More Than Friends
by InkDeath15
Summary: What happens when Kagome realizes that some of her friends are still alive in the modern time? What if Sesshoumaru realizes that his breed is dieing out? What if they both feel like they don't belong to the time they occupy? What if they became friends to get some comfort? What would happen if they wanted more? Kagome/Sesshoumaru multi chapter story. Obviously I don't own the anime
1. Chapter 1

Kagome sat silently at the bottom of the well at her family shrine, silently begging for the well to send her to the feudal era and her friends which she missed so much. It was her 19th birthday and it had been months since she'd been forced to leave the feudal era for good. Wishing the shikon no tama away meant that she wouldn't be able to return to the feudal era once she returned to her time. After all of her friends had coupled off she had realized that she didn't belong to the feudal era. Kagome thought about the day she had told her friends goodbye.

Flashback*

Kagome stared down into the bone eater's well for a long moment before she turned to face her friends.

"Kagome, are you sure you have to go?" Shippo whined as he jumped up and hugged her around the neck.

"Let's face it Shippo I don't belong to this time. I need to go home and live my life the way I would have if I had never come here."

"We'll miss you terribly Kagome," Sango cried as she wrapped her arms around both Kagome and Shippo. "I'll always think of you as my sister." Miroku pried Sango's arms away from Kagome's neck and held his Fiancé's sobbing form as she held a sobbing Shippo.

"Who knows Kagome, maybe 700 years from now you'll meet our ancestors. We'll be sure to pass on stories of you." Miroku gave her a soft smile before he led a sobbing Sango and Shippo away back to Kaede's village. Kagome felt the tears start to slide down her face as she turned to face her dearest friend and the woman she had been reincarnated from. Kikiyo approached her first taking hold of both Kagome's hands in her own.

"Thank you Kagome, for giving me the gift of a life with the man I love. If it turns out that I continue to be undead I will be sure to find you in the future. I am forever in your debt for what you have done for me." Kikiyo gave her hands a tight squeeze before she released Kagome's hands. "I'll allow the two of you to be alone." Kikiyo gave Kagome a sad little smile before she turn and floated away in the way she always had. When Kagome looked to Inuyasha he was halfheartedly kicking the dirt and refusing to look at her.

"Are you going to say your goodbyes Inuyasha?"

"Peh, It's not goodbye. I have every intention of finding you in the future. Surely you don't think I'll be killed that easily." Kagome laughed bitterly at his words.

"No, of course not Inuyasha." He smirked before pulling the girl into a tight hug.

"You better take care, Kagome. I mean it. I will find you." When Inuyasha released her, Kagome slowly turned and sat on the edge of the well taking a deep breath before she left behind the feudal era for good.

End Flashback*

Kagome missed her friends terribly. She had quickly discovered that she no longer felt like she fit in the fast paced modern world. Her friends had abandoned her. Trying to interest herself in her college studies for her future career was becoming a more and more difficult battle.

"Kagome, There's someone here to see you!" _The girls from my high school haven't spoken to me since graduation. I wonder who it could be?" _Kagome thought as she climbed out of the well and dusted herself off. She looked back at the well for a second longer before she forced herself to run to the front gates of the shrine. When she saw the person standing there she stopped and found herself staring. The man standing before her had her head spinning in confusion. He had long silver hair and golden brown eyes and he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. The longer Kagome stood and stared at him the more he resembled a much older, less boyish looking Inuyasha without ears.

"Told you I'd find you Kagome."

"I-inuyasha?" She couldn't believe her eyes was the man standing before her really Inuyasha?

"Peh, yeah, who else?" The tears started to slide down her face and she ran forward to throw her arms around his neck.

"Oh Inuyasha, Inuyasha, I've missed you so much!" She sobbed into Inuyasha's chest as he slowly wrapped his arms around her.

"Shh, It's alright Kagome. We're here now." Kagome pulled herself together and moved back to look up at him.

"We? Who else is still alive?"

"Well Kikiyo is still alive and with me. Aparently even though she's alive she doesn't age and she can't die. Shippo has grown up now. And Koga and Ayame are mated and also still alive." Kagome couldn't believe that so many of her friends had survived. She hadn't even been aware that demons still lived in her time period.

"I can't believe so many of you are still alive. Why didn't you contact me before now if you've been living in this time period all along?" Inuyasha chuckled quietly at her words.

"Couldn't risk screwing up what led to us being here in the first place now could I? We had to wait until your 19th birthday to be sure that nothing from the feudal era that you did would change. Now come on. I promised Shippo I'd bring you back with me for a nice birthday dinner." Kagome screamed as he yanked her up and spun her around so she was riding on his back piggy back style. He carried her down to the street and Kagome gasped when she noticed the car he was walking toward. It was a dark red convertible Maserati . "What?"

"How can you afford this car?"

"Easy I'm a demon who's had a lot of years to accumulate money." The possibilities suddenly became infinite in Kagome's mind as she realized just how long her friends had been alive. He dumped Kagome unceremoniously into his car before Inuyasha ran around to jump into the driver's seat. "You like the car? Wait until you see the house's." Kagome nearly fainted at the thought as Inuyasha laughed out loud and pulled his car off the curb.

…

"Kagome? Kagome! Wake up, we're here!" Kagome shot up and blinked over at Inuyasha in confusion.

"What?" Inuyasha simply reached over and turned her head around so that she was looking to her right and she nearly fainted all over again. The mansion, for that was what it was, was huge. It had to be at least three stories high.

"Are you coming or what?" Kagome shook her head and leapt out of the car to run up the stairs after Inuyasha. As she got level with the building she realized there were actually several buildings. So it was technically a small community of mansions. "Come on Kagome, we're having dinner at this first house. The others are already waiting for you. By the way I should warn you over the years come people's personalities have changed a tad bit."

"Kagome!" She turned just in time to be plowed head first into the ground by a redheaded man that looked to be around her age. "Kagome I missed you so much, I never thought Inuyasha would give in and let me see you again." Kagome stared at the young man for a long time trying to figure out who this guy was and why he thought he was allowed to touch her like this. As Kagome took in the red hair, pointed ears, and bushy tail her mind came to the realization that this deeper voiced, older boy was Shippo.

"Wow Shippo you grew up." Shippo snorted and stood up before he pulled her up with him.

"Well yeah, did you think I would stay a kit for 500 years?" Kagome laughed at the obvious absurdity of her statement. Of course he had grown up, after all that's what happened to people with the passing of years.

"I guess I just didn't think about it." Shippo laughed brightly and wrapped his arms around her waist to spin her around.

"Kami, I missed you Kagome!"

"Try not to strangle the poor girl before the rest of us get to tell her how much we missed her!" When Shippo stopped spinning Kagome had to wrap her arms around his neck to keep from losing her balance. When she looked up at Shippo their noses touched and they both jumped away from each other blushing furiously. When Kagome looked up she was surprised to see that the laughing, happy girl she had heard was none other than the ice queen Kikiyo standing next to Ayame and Koga. The two girls bum rushed her and practically hugged her to death. Kagome's face was beginning to hurt from all the smiling. She hadn't been this happy since before she left the feudal era for the final time. She looked over at Koga expecting some sort of declaration about moving aside so he could tell his woman how much he missed her. To her surprise Koga scoffed and turned to walk back in the house without a single word.

"It's ok Kagome, don't feel bad. He's still sore about you not telling him goodbye," Ayame whispered into Kagome's ear. Kagome nodded slowly and the two girls linked their arms with Kagome's to lead her inside. "Oh Kagome you must tell us all about your life in this time. What do you do, where do you live, are you going to school?"

"Ayame let the poor woman get used to the fact that we're five hundred years older than the last time she saw us before you go off questioning her," Inuyasha barked as he and Shippo followed the girls inside. As soon as the doors to the mansion opened Kagome's jaw hit the floor. She'd never been in such an extravagant home. The whole place left no doubt whatsoever that whoever lived here had spent a ton of money designing the place. The group led her through another doorway straight forward under the stairway and Kagome stopped dead in her tracks as yet another surprise stood over a table in the study that they'd led her to. A man stood over the large cherry wood table studying some kind of charts. He was reasonably tall, wearing black slacks and a button-up long sleeved shirt with the top two buttons undone and a tie hanging untied around his neck. His long silver hair was tied back out of his way showing off pointed ears. When he lifted his head to assess his visitors the man's eyes instantly locked with hers. Dark brown eyes looked at her with no facial markings to me seen and Kagome was instantly confused.

"Hey Sessh, you bout ready for dinner?" Kagome took in Inuyasha's words and it took about thirty seconds before she started to have the meltdown of the century.

"Sessh? As in Sesshoumaru? As in demon that has golden eyes and facial markings that seem to have disappeared?" Kagome fell silent as the Sesshoumaru imposter scoffed and rose to his full height.

"Miko, trust me. I am the Sesshoumaru you knew in the feudal era. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to change before dinner." The girls let go of Kagome's arms and moved to either side of the doorway but Kagome stood frozen as Sesshoumaru walked directly to stand in front of her. "Move, Miko." Sesshoumaru's low growl had her jumping out of the way. Kagome watched as Sesshoumaru walked through the door and looked at Inuyasha incredulously.

"He lives with you?" Inuyasha scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that. Sesshoumaru's still alive too. He's not the same guys he used to be. Loosing Rin and Jaken changed him a lot. He's kind of … lost in the new times I guess you could say. Anyway let's go settle ourselves in the dining hall. Now that I'm part of this time I'd love to hear what you do with yourself here."


	2. Chapter 2

As per usual I do not own this anime or these characters. Let me know what you think of it so far. Reviews would be apreciated.

* * *

Kagome found herself in complete disbelief. Here she was sitting at a table with a group of her old friends. All of them dressed in modern clothes and completely relaxed. She wanted to scream. Nothing about this was normal. Her friends had become people that she didn't recognize the longer she sat with them. After she had answered their questions they had begun talking about stock markets and other mumbo jumbo that she didn't want to hear them talking about. She had wanted them to make her feel as though she was back in the feudal era. Instead they made her feel as though the modern world had taken her friends with it and left her behind. Kagome jumped as the dining room door slammed open. In waltzed Sesshoumaru, complete with golden eyes and all marking where they should have been. Kagome locked her eyes upon the only familiar face in the room. _It figures that I'd finally find my friends and most of them have changed so much that I can hardly stand to look at them. _Sesshoumaru caught her look and narrowed his eyes at her. Kagome ducked her head quickly and looked around to give Sango her embarrassed look only to realize that Sango wasn't there.

"What happened to Sango and Miroku?" The whole table fell silent at her sudden outburst. Inuyasha frowned sadly and swallowed before he answered her question slowly.

"They died Kagome. Both of them and their two children were taken by disease." Kagome's head spun sickly at his words. She felt like the room was closing in on her. "Are you ok Kagome?" Then something in her snapped and she couldn't stop the word vomit that began.

"No, I'm not ok. My friends have been replaced with the rich lazy people of my time. Honestly I could overlook that because I missed you all so very much. But none of you are you anymore! Inuyasha, your ears are gone, you've somehow become a full demon, and you're being completely calm. Kikiyo, you've gone from being regal and cold to acting like a teenage girl that loves everyone. Shippo, not only are you taller than I am but you look older. And Koga, you haven't called me your woman once since I've gotten here, heck you won't even speak to me. And now I find out that the two people I considered my brother and sister died a miserable death by sickness." Kagome turned and ran out of the house out onto the grounds. She ran and ran amongst the houses until she was too tired to run anymore. She let herself lean against the nearest wall and slid down so that she was sitting on the ground and hugging her knees. Kagome sat staring off into the distance begging the earth to swallow her whole. She jumped when someone else flopped down next to her. She glanced over to see that it was none other than Sesshoumaru. He had his head leaned back against the wall with both his arms resting on his knees in that manly sort of way. He turned his head while it was still touching the wall so that his head was tilted at an unusual angle before he opened his eyes to study her with his cold golden gaze.

"You're right." Kagome wanted to smack her head off the wall. This had to be some sort of horrible nightmare. Otherwise Sesshoumaru would never say such a thing.

"How do you figure?"

"They have all become soft, spoiled creatures. It's no wonder you spent so much time in the feudal era." Kagome found herself staring at him. Sesshoumaru had never really been known to spend a lot of time talking to her.

"I'm sorry, I'm having a hard time believing that you're having a conversation with me." Sesshoumaru gave her a smug look.

"To be honest I don't like it. Unfortunately times have changed. My breed is dieing out. I can't even remember the last time I saw a pureblooded demon that wasn't at least 400 years old. As weak as humans are, they somehow managed to outbreed us. In today's world if a demon is going to survive they have to be willing to deal with humans or be wiped out like the rest." Kagome found herself feeling sorry for him.

"There's something wrong about seeing you in modern clothes." Sesshoumaru snorted softly a closed his eyes. "I'm serious. You're supposed to be, well, you. In those clothes you somehow appear to have been tamed by time."

"Miko, I am in no way tamed. The only reason I'm even deigning to speak with you is because you are a familiar person in an unfamiliar time. Your scent, personality, and appearance are the same as they were in the past to me. Even though I still think humans are reasonably pathetic it's been so long since I've seen someone familiar that I'm willing to put up with you to have that." Kagome found herself nodding as he finished speaking. Sesshoumaru wasn't her ideal speaking companion either but for a familiar face she'd put up with just about anything.

"I can understand that. After all before I had realized how much everyone had changed I was desperate for a chance to get back to the time I thought I belonged in." They sat against that wall for a long time enjoying a companionable silence until it was completely dark outside.

"Would you like a ride home Miko? I imagine you no longer feel like eating dinner or spending time with the others." Kagome nodded her head slowly and Sesshoumaru pushed himself up from the wall and started walking away. Kagome had to scramble to catch up to him and follow him to a parking lot full of expensive cars. Once again Kagome was hit with the shock of her friends being able to afford such expensive things. He led her over to a sleek black sports car and held open the car door for her to get in. Kagome slid into the car and when Sesshoumaru closed the door Kagome jumped when he was already getting into the car. "Nervous?"

"No I wasn't expecting you to be getting into the car already." The girl quipped as he turned the ignition switch. Kagome couldn't help but hum and sink down into the cars seat as the engine purred to life. When the car didn't start moving she glanced over at Sesshoumaru to see him staring at her.

"What is wrong with you woman?" Kagome blushed and averted her gaze out the window.

"I like your car," she mumbled meekly without looking back at him.

"Hn." Sesshoumaru didn't push her for answers instead opting to pull the vehicle out of the house parking lot. Sesshoumaru reached over and flicked on the radio and Kagome giggled as a girly song she liked started playing. Sesshoumaru snorted but left the song playing. Kagome watched the scenery pass the window and hummed with the music as Sesshoumaru drove them back to the city. Other than the humming Kagome kept quiet and enjoyed the vibrations of the car, only speaking when he needed to turn.

"This is it." Sesshoumaru pulled up to the shrine and eyed it curiously.

"You own your own shrine?"

"My mother and grandfather do. I haven't been able to find a job to pay for my own place yet." When she looked back at Sesshoumaru he was frowning at her. "Don't give me that look, I realize it's ridiculous to still live at home. I've tried several places and so far no one wants to hire me. I have another interview tomorrow that I have hopes for. Anyway thanks for the ride Sesshoumaru." With that she bailed out of the car and ran up the stairs to her home. She stopped at the top of her stairs when the sound of Sesshoumaru revving the engine caught her ears. She spun around as the sound shot straight through her and watched as he shot the car off the curb and down the road. He was out of her site before she could blink. Kagome found herself extremely hot from the thought of how fast that car had to be capable of going. She had been so concerned with not looking at him that she hadn't had the chance to peek at the speedometer. Kagome shook herself off and ran inside to throw herself in bed. It was already 11 and she had to be at her interview by 9 in the morning.

When Kagome woke up the next morning it was 7:30 she had about an hour before she had to start walking for her interview. She took a quick shower and blow dried her hair before pulling on a fancy red blouse and a skirt that went a little past her knees. She grabbed one of her larger purses and stored a simple pair of black sandal heels inside before putting a pair of tennis shoes on her feet. She refused to walk for 20 minutes in heels. She ran downstairs into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of toast and kissed her mother on the cheek before she headed for the door.

"Good luck honey! Let me know how it goes."

"I will mom!" Kagome took off out the door glaring at the clock that informed her it was already 8:30. Kagome got to the building in 20 minutes of jogging. Fortunately all the time she had spent in the feudal era had trained her to jog for long stretches without getting tired. She stopped outside the building and changed her shoes, pointedly ignoring the people who stared. Kagome took a deep breath and centered herself before she pushed open the glass doors to the office building. The entrance was surprisingly empty with two elevators behind a desk where a woman with bright red hair sat typing on her computer. The woman looked up at Kagome and blinked in surprise.

"You're early Ms. Higarashi. Mr. Taisho likes that in his employees. I'll let him know you're here for your interview and see if he's ready for you. Please have a seat." The woman gestured to the chairs lining the wall as she picked up the phone. Kagome only had to sit for a moment before the woman told her to take one of the elevators to the top floor and take the double doors at the end of the hall. She had to fight the urge to chew her lip off as she rode up in the elevator. When she was standing in front of the door she had to forced herself to reach up and knock. A deep baritone answered from the other side almost cheerfully. When Kagome opened the door she nearly face planted as she tripped over her own feet. There standing behind a desk was a smirking humanized Sesshoumaru. He pointed at the chair without saying a word. Kagome slid into her chair feeling small and hopeless.

"I must say I'm surprised to see you're interviewing for my assistants position. Since you showed up early to our interview and I already know you're quite capable of doing things that are much more difficult than filing papers and keeping appointments I'm giving you the job. Since today is Saturday and nobody other than myself, the receptionist, and you usually work on Saturday I won't make you start till Monday." Kagome couldn't believe her luck. She had finally managed to obtain a job because this particular boss wasn't looking at her long list of absences from school as a bad thing. Sesshoumaru knew exactly where she was on those absences and that she hadn't actually been a sickly teenager.

"Thank you Mr. Taisho." Sesshoumaru cringed visibly at her use of his present title.

"On the condition that you refrain from calling me that." Kagome frowned deeply at his words.

"Well what you prefer? I can't very well call you by your first name in the workplace." The slow mocking grin that lit up his face made her regret asking.

"Lord Sesshoumaru." Kagome felt her jaw drop and he shrugged at her dumbfounded expression. "I miss the title. You could always go find another job if you like…."

"No Mr….. I mean Lord Sesshoumaru, I want this job. What will the other people who work here say though?"

"When speaking to others use my present day title. When alone with me, which is where most of your work is done anyway, use my old title. Somehow my present title coming from you seems wrong Miko." Kagome was nodding enthusiastically she needed this job badly enough that she was willing to do just about anything he asked as long as it wasn't inappropriate. "Alright, I suppose I will see you bright and early Monday morning. I expect you to be here by 8." Kagome bowed and thanked him once more before she nearly skipped all the way home.

"How did you do honey?" Kagome threw her arms around her mother happily.

"I got the job!" Her mother squealed with her as they jumped up and down.

"What happened?" Souta and Grandpa yelled as they ran outside to where the two were screaming. Her mother released her and Kagome turned to them brightly.

"I got a job!"

"Does that mean I get her room?" Kagome nearly fell over at her brother's lack of excitement for her. As her brother whined to her mother about getting her room when she moved out Kagome slipped inside and prepared to relax for the rest of the weekend. She lounged around her house until that evening when her cellphone started going off a little after 5:30. When she glanced at the number she didn't recognize it. _Who would be calling me right now? _

"Hello?" It sounded more like a question than an answer when she answered her phone.

"Kagome!" Kagome smiled in spite of herself as older Shippo's excited voice mirrored the tone he'd had as a child.

"What's up Shippo?"

"Well. Sesshoumaru just informed us that you got the job! So I figured since you left so suddenly last night maybe you'd feel like going out and celebrating with us tonight." Kagome thought about it for a long moment. Sure they had changed with time but at least they were her friends. Changed friends were better than no friends right?

"Yeah Shippo I'll go."

"Great! Dress for a night of drinking and dancing!" Kagome laughed at his overly excited tone. They exchanged goodbyes and hung up. _I'll have to remember to ask him how he got my number. _Kagome pulled open her closet door and began searching for something club worthy. She had never been to a club before or done any sort of drinking for that matter, so it was sure to be an interesting experience at any rate. Eventually she settled on a pair of jeans that she had gotten with holes in them along with a sparkly black and grey striped tank top.


	3. Chapter 3

Shippo, Kikyou, and Ayame pulled up to the steps of the shrine in a bright red convertible shortly after Shippo's call.

"Where are the other guys?" Kagome asked as she got in the back seat with Ayame.

"They don't like clubs, so anytime we go it's just me and the girls." Shippo turned the vehicle on and they started moving toward what was bound to be an interesting experience. Kikyou turned in her seat to look back at Kagome with a smile.

"So Kagome, how often do you go out?"

"This is actually my first time. I don't really have any present time friends to go out with. Spending years of my life in the feudal era made sure of that." Ayame and Kikyou traded horrified expressions.

"You're telling me that you're in your twenties and you've never been drunk?" Kagome shook her head at the two girls.

"That's ok Kagome we'll fix that tonight." Shippo said as he pulled into a dark parking lot. Kagome got out of the car and looked around the parking lot questioningly. This seemed more like a place to be raped rather than the parking lot to a club. Kagome screamed as an arm was suddenly flung over her shoulder. "Jumpy? Come on Kagome we can't get into the club from here we have to walk a block." Kikyou wrapped her arm around Kagome's and Ayame wrapped hers around Kikyou's.

"You know Kagome people are going to think we're related. So when they ask we're cousins alright?" Kagome nodded dumbly as the group walked down the sidewalk. The longer they walked the worse Kagome felt about the situation. When they rounded the next corner Kagome found herself amazed at the long line of people and the bright lights. She could hear the music from the club from where they were standing and realized that there was a reason she had never gone to such a thing.

"Don't we have to wait in line?" Kagome asked as they led her past the throngs of people and straight to the bouncer.

"Hey there Corry!" Shippo said cheerfully.

"Shippo! Who's the new girl?" The bouncer unhooked the chain and let them pass through.

"Kagome, and she's mine for once." Kagome found herself blushing brightly at Shippo's grin. As soon as the door opened Kagome knew she would regret agreeing to this evening. As soon as they were inside Kikyou and Ayame pulled her away from Shippo and dragged her off to the bar.

"We need three screwdrivers please!" The man looked up at Kikyou and smiled.

"Evening girls. It's been a while since I've seen you two. Might I see you're ID miss?" Kagome pulled her ID out of her back pocket when he turned his attention to her. The man looked from the ID to her before he handed it back to Kagome. "I'll have your drinks out to you ladies shortly. It was nice meeting you Kagome." As promised three glasses we're presented to them. Kikyo shoved one into Kagome's hand.

"This my dear is going to be your first experience drinking!" Kikyou and Ayame clinked their glasses and began drinking. Kagome sniffed the glass curiously, finding the smell of orange juice to be the only thing that met her nose. She sipped it lightly and was surprised when all she could taste was orange juice. The next thing Kagome knew her glass was empty and the girls were dragging her out to the dance floor. A few hours later Kagome found herself begging Shippo to take her away from the god awful place. The room wouldn't stop spinning, the music was too loud, the lights were giving her a headache and she had lost count of how many orange juice concoctions Kikyou had shoved into her hand.

"Alright Kagome we'll go home just let me get the girls. You can go sit out on the sidewalk and wait for us if you want to." Kagome found herself nodding vigorously and as soon as Shippo was out of sight she took off for the front door. She burst into the fresh air happily and sat on the sidewalk like she was told. The music was still to loud where she was sitting so she decided she was going to go find the car and wait there. Kagome went in the direction she thought she was supposed to go. Eventually Kagome started to feel like she had probably gone the wrong way. She didn't think it had taken her that long to walk to the club in the first place. Suddenly Kagome felt her stomach do a flip and she ducked into the nearest ally to lose the contents of her stomach. When Kagome finally pushed herself out of the alley she stood there dumbfounded. For the life of her she couldn't remember which direction she had come from. She couldn't hear the clubs music anymore she couldn't even see the lights from the club flashing in the distance. _I swear I'm never letting them take me out to drink again. _Kagome patted down her pockets to realize she hadn't brought her phone with her. _Well I could keep wandering around looking for the club, possibly getting myself more lost. Or I could wait here and hope they weren't so drunk that they forgot about me. _After a long debate Kagome plopped herself down on the sidewalk. They'd be far more likely to find her with their demon senses than she would be to find them.

"Hello there." Kagome cringed as she looked behind her to see a man leaning against the wall and smirking at her.

"Goodbye." Kagome said as she quickly pushed herself off the sidewalk. She immediately lost her balance and fell back down onto the side walk. Kagome yelped as the man grabbed her upper arms and yanked her up into a standing position. He clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her back into the alley before he shoved her against the brick wall. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head with one hand and started kissing her forcefully as his other hand groped her. Kagome kicked him forcefully and the man was forced to release her. She tried to take off running but she found herself running into another man.

"You shouldn't take advantage of drunken women." Kagome looked up in shock when Sesshoumaru's voice met her ears.

"Oh yeah what are you going to do about it!" The man slurred out as he pulled a gun from his waist band. Sesshoumaru flicked his wrist lazily and his whip shot out to hit the man's hand. The man dropped the gun and immediately began howling in pain. Sesshoumaru turned Kagome toward his car parked on the sidewalk and helped her get into it without sparing the man another glance.

"How'd you find me?" Sesshoumaru glanced over at her before he pulled the car away from the curb.

"Shippo called us about an hour ago. Saying you were nowhere to be found and that he and Ayame were incapable of sniffing you out."

"I've been wandering around for an hour?" She had felt like it had been a while but she never would have realized it had been a whole hour.

"Yes. I tracked you down since Inuyasha and Koga had their women to tend to. What sort of idiot wanders away from their friends when they're intoxicated?" Kagome blushed deeply and realized that if she had been sober she never would have walked away from her friends in the first place.

"I've never been drunk before."

"Do not give excuses Miko. Except that your actions are your own and learn from the experience." Kagome nodded slowly and focused her eyes outside the window. Sesshoumaru turned on the radio when he was sure she wasn't going to say anything more.

"Hey I like this song! Every other memory, I have of you is good! If I could only rewind time! I hope you know I would!" Sesshoumaru snorted and Kagome made herself shut up. "Sorry Sesshoumaru I forgot how sensitive your ears are." Sesshoumaru allowed a slow smirk to grace his lips as he glanced over at her.

"I thought I told you to call me by my title." Kagome paled as she realized her mistake.

"I'm sorry Lord Sesshoumaru! It won't happen again." His smirk never changed after that until he pulled up to her family shrine. Sesshoumaru opened her door for her and offered her a clawed hand to help her out of the vehicle.

"I must say hearing you speak my title is quite refreshing." Kagome blushed and nodded quickly.

"Yes well, goodnight Lord Sesshoumaru." Kagome nearly ran up the stairs to the shrine.

"Goodnight Miko."

Kagome spent the next day in bed sleeping off the god awful hangover. By that night Kagome found herself completely unable to sleep. She sat on her bed looking around her dark room wishing sleep would come to her since she had to work the next morning.

*Click*

Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin as something tapped against her window. She pushed herself off the bed and looked out the window. Kagome gasped when she saw who was standing beneath her window. Sesshoumaru was standing in the moonlight looking up at her. She opened her window and poked her head out to look down at him.

"What are you doing Sesshoumaru?"

"Miko I cannot sleep. Let's go for a ride." Kagome raised an eyebrow at him before she nodded her head. She took off down the stairs and out the front door. Sesshoumaru stood before the steps at the edge of the shrine with his back turned to her. "Took you long enough, let's go Miko." Kagome followed him down the stairs taking them two at a time to keep up with him.

"Where are we going exactly?" Sesshoumaru opened the door of his convertible and closed it behind her when she was seated inside.

"Do you trust me Miko?"

Kagome made a face at Sesshoumaru when he was seated beside her and didn't hesitate to answer with a flat, "no. Sesshoumaru until the day all your walls shatter around you I'll probably never trust you." Kagome nearly jumped out of the moving car as a loud dark booming sound met her ears. She looked around frantically until her eyes locked on Sesshoumaru and she realized that the ice lord was actually laughing at her. Kagome sat there in complete shock as his laughter slowly died down.

"Good to know Miko." After about five minutes of Kagome staring at him and Sesshoumaru staring at the road he finally glanced over at her. "You know in most places it's considered very rude to stare at people." Kagome jumped and looked away as a deep blush overtook her face.

"Sorry."

"What did I do to render you so silent? I seem to remember a time when I wanted nothing more than to shut you up and I never could."

"I've never heard you laugh before. Hell I've never even seen you smile other than the corner of your mouth twitching when Rin did something amusing. I'm a bit shocked to be honest." Sesshoumaru had a bemused expression as he pulled the car onto the interstate.

"Cursing is ill suited to a person of your station Miko. From now on you will refrain from doing so around this Sesshoumaru." Kagome snorted and turned a glare on the demon sitting beside her.

"Don't you pull that 'Holier then thou' tone on me. If you want something from me, ask, because you and I both know I won't follow demands."

A slow smile spread across his face as he muttered, "some things never change."

"You know Sesshoumaru it's really awkward to hear your 'lord voice' after seeing you laugh." Sesshoumaru turned to face her without paying a bit of attention to the road and raised an eyebrow at her.

"My lord voice huh?" He asked sarcastically. "Well Miko times have changed. I don't have land or a title to protect anymore. There are hardly any demons left to care if my emotions are viewed as a weakness. Not to mention after losing Rin and Jaken I reached a point where I no longer care what others think of me. Shame it took losing the ones I was closest to for me to start showing how I felt about them." Kagome found herself frowning at Sesshoumaru. It was obvious that he deeply regretted not telling the little girl how much he cared for her. "We're here Miko." Kagome looked around as she realized that he had parked the car. They had reached an ancient forest that had to have been there since long before the feudal era.

"I didn't think places like this existed anymore." She whispered as she looked around and listened to the sounds of the forest. She could see the stars clearly through the tree tops and the moonlight allowed her to see clearly in the night. It took her back.

"My company puts a lot of money into keeping this area protected from development. This is my little piece of a time when I didn't feel like the world moved faster than I did. Any time you feel like you miss the old days you can feel free to come here. And now Miko, I have a surprise for you." Kagome looked up at Sesshoumaru curiously as he opened her door for her.

"What kind of surprise?" Sesshoumaru chose not to answer her as he walked around to the trunk of his car. He tossed her a brown papers wrapped package. Kagome caught it easily and opened it cautiously. She was shocked to find one of her old school uniforms that had been made for her more womanly frame. She looked up from the clothes only to have her eyes widen when she saw what else Sesshoumaru was holding, an old style bow and arrows.

"They'll be waiting for you here at the car. There's a clearing that way, go get changed." Kagome turned almost numbly and walked in the direction she had pointed. She changed quickly when she reached the clearing. While she really didn't think Sesshoumaru would be interested in looking at her he had managed to shock her with changes in his behavior all night. When she was done she moved back to the car only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw Sesshoumaru. He was wearing the same old outfit, armor, swords, and all, that she had always seen him with. When she stood before him Sesshoumaru handed her the bow and arrows and began walking away. "I must say it is refreshing to see that outfit on you again Miko. Now come here." Kagome trotted along behind him, easily falling into her old self feeling as though she was searching for jewel shards all over again. Sesshoumaru stopped at the edge of a cliff that looked out over acres of forest. "Now shoot." Kagome looked at him questioningly for a moment before he clarified. "See how far you can get them to go." Kagome stared at him for a moment longer before she knocked an arrow into place and pulled the bow as taught as she could get it. She smiled as the arrow easily began glowing pink as her Miko power gathered into it. She released the arrow and jumped when Sesshoumaru suddenly disappeared from her side. A moment later he was beside her again holding her arrow out to her. Kagome took it from him slowly and stared at him. For some reason he had chosen to share this paradise with her and at that moment she was more grateful than she had ever been in her life.

"Thank you." Sesshoumaru seemed to understand that she was thanking him for far more than just handing her back the arrow. He nodded once before he held out his hand, encouraging her to shoot again without saying a word. They spent several hours that night with Kagome shooting and Sesshoumaru retrieving. The two gaining a sort of comfort from taking part in something that hadn't occurred in hundreds of years, bonding without saying another word.


	4. Chapter 4

First of all I do not own the anime Inu Yasha or its characters. Thank you all for your reviews, they made me smile a lot.

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The next morning Kagome found herself running down the street toward her new job. Staying out so late with Sesshoumaru had caused her to sleep in, she wasn't even sure how late she was because all her clocks were blinking twelve AM because the power had gone out sometime while she was sleeping. She ran into the building and threw the check-in clerk a hasty wave. Kagome started pushing the button frantically as she straightened her clothes while the clerk stared at her as though she had grown a couple extra heads. Kagome quickly changed her shoes in the elevator and shoved her tennis shoes into her purse and pulled a hair brush through her hair. When the elevator stopped she ran for the door and burst into the office to see a wide eyed human looking Sesshoumaru standing frozen with a cup of coffee half way to his mouth.

"I'm sorry I'm late lord Sesshoumaru!" Kagome bowed and waited for him to say something as she desperately hoped he wouldn't fire her. She heard him sip his coffee for a moment feeling as though she was waiting to be executed.

"You do realize you're thirty minutes early right?" Kagome sweat dropped and felt her eye twitching. "Either way it's good to know that even when you're early you feel late. Well Miko, since you have arrived so early you can begin by sorting the mail. Anything business related needs to be brought to me and anything pertaining to social events and charities needs to be scheduled on the events calendar which you will find easily on your computer screen. If another event is scheduled for that date or time such as a business meeting you are to call the client with my regrets at not being able to attend. Business always comes before social. If there is another social event scheduled you will bring it to my attention and I will delegate which event is most important to attend. Eventually you will learn which events and clients are most important and you will no longer need to ask me. Phone calls work the same way. When one of our clients wish to make an appointment to meet with myself or one of our offices down stairs you will check the business calendar and click on that parson's calendar to schedule meetings during office hours. If something is already scheduled at their requested time you will politely tell them that time is taken and offer the next closest time slot on that day. Each morning you will find the papers that have been filled for each client that had a meeting the day before on the corner of your desk. It is your job to file these papers into the proper client's folder which you will find in the file cabinets behind your desk. You may have personal items on your desk as long as they are tasteful. You get an hour for lunch. The ladies room is down the hall when you need to use it you are to press this button on the phone. This will play a message for the client on hold telling them their call will be answered promptly." Kagome listened carefully to every word Sesshoumaru said. This was her first job and she intended to give it 110% since it would be her only way to pay for the things she deeply needed. "I think I have explained everything important. Anything else you'll learn on the job. Any questions?" Kagome shook her head and smiled up at him.

"Nope I understand completely." Sesshoumaru gave her an approving smile before he turned away and moved toward his own desk.

"Very well, get to work Ms. Higarashi." Kagome set to work, following Sesshoumaru's instructions without any problems while several clients came in to meet with him.

"Come Miko, it is your lunch break." Kagome jumped and looked up at the clock to see that it was indeed noon. She had been so busy she hadn't had a chance to look at the clock all morning.

"I just have to file this first." She hadn't realized how hungry she was until he spoke. She bent over to place the paper in its proper file and then turned as she straightened. Sesshoumaru stood by the door holding it open and when Kagome turned she swore she saw his head snap up. _Was he just… looking at my butt? _

"Are you coming or not woman?" Kagome jumped and snatched her purse before quickly walking through the open door. _Who are you kidding Kags? The man border-line hates you of course he wasn't looking at you. _

"Where are the best places to eat around here," she asked as they waited for the elevator.

"About a block down there's a street lined with different food options. If you would prefer it, you can join me since you do not know the area." Kagome nodded as they entered the elevator. Kagome pulled off her heels so she could change into sneakers. Sesshoumaru was watching her with a curious expression and as soon as she pulled out the sneakers he laughed at her. "Most of the women who have taken this job aren't smart enough to do that sort of thing."

"Well I'm not most girls, am I? Being practical is an essential skill when you're running around in the feudal era and that skill has stayed with me."

"Very true." Kagome followed Sesshoumaru out onto the street when the elevator finally opened. When Kagome glanced back the clerk grinned and snuck her a thumbs up just before the door closed. Kagome couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out of her throat when she realized the woman thought she and Sesshoumaru were an item. "What's so funny?"

"I think the check in girl thinks we're together." Sesshoumaru looked completely confused.

"Kagome we are standing beside one another and going to the same location, I fail to see how that is funny." Kagome slapped her hand against her forehead.

"As in 'we're dating' not as in 'standing beside one another'."

"Oh." He stopped in front of a Subway and held the door open for her.

"I have to tell you Sesshoumaru, I never would have pegged you as a sandwich guy."

"It's not something I prefer but I refuse to eat the stuff they call food at the other fast food places around here." The two of them ordered their food and watched as they made their sandwiches behind the glass. Sesshoumaru's finished first so he paid for the food and then walked away. Kagome pulled her wallet out of her purse so that she could pay as the woman wrapped and bagged her food.

"The man already paid for you food ma'am." Kagome's jaw dropped and she spun around angrily prepared to yell at Sesshoumaru only to realize he was no longer in the store. Kagome grabbed her food and thanked the cashier before running out the door to catch up to Sesshoumaru. By the time she reached the office she had calmed down quite a bit. She opened the door to find him typing with one hand while the other held his sandwich.

"Why did you do that? I'm quite capable of paying for my own food." Sesshoumaru swallowed the bite of food in his mouth and look thoughtful for a moment.

"I did it because I could." Kagome snorted and took her seat at her desk. A little while after Kagome had started working again she found Sesshoumaru staring at her pointedly.

"What are you looking at?"

"You forgot to change your shoes." Kagome immediately ripped off her tennis shoes as Sesshoumaru laughed at her.

By the time the work day was over Kagome's whole body was sore. She was pretty sure she had a couple blisters from the dreadful heels she had worn all day. She was not looking forward to the long walk home. She didn't even care that Sesshoumaru was in the elevator when she yanked the heels off her sore feet. She rubbed one foot whimpering at the pain as she tried to rub out the knots.

"It is rather late do you have a ride home?" Kagome shook her head and winced as she rubbed across on of her blisters which immediately broke open. "How about I give you a ride? Those heels appear to have torn your feet to shreds."

"Yeah I'll never understand why they make women wear such awful things."

"You should wear sandal heels tomorrow if you have any and just slip them off whenever clients aren't in. I already know you have the medical supplies to take care of ten people so be sure to clean up the ones that bust open." Kagome nodded as she stared limping out of the elevator. She stopped when she realized she was standing in a parking garage.

"I didn't know we had parking."

"That is what the 'P' stands for on the bottom button in the elevator. Now come here."

"Whaaaa…?" Kagome's question turned into a scream as her feet suddenly left the ground. Sesshoumaru had picked her up and used demon speed to get her to the car. "Why did you do that!" she screeched when he was seated beside her.

"Mostly so I didn't have to wait for you to limp all the way to my car. Partly because I knew it would piss you off."

"You get off on making me mad don't you?" Kagome grumbled under her breath as she crossed her arms.

"What?" Kagome shook her head when Sesshoumaru looked completely confused.

"Modern saying Sesshoumaru, don't worry about it."

"Oh, would you like to go out to the park tonight?" Before Kagome could answer another voice interrupted her.

"Kagome!" The two of them turned to see Shippo running down the stairs toward them. Kagome found herself frowning deeply at the young fox demon. Part of her was still upset that he and the girls had allowed her to get lost. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, go ahead toward the house and I'll join you shortly." Kagome watched him until he was past the stairs and out of sight. She jumped when Sesshoumaru appeared in front of her to open the door. When he offered his hand to help her stand Kagome found herself grinning. "What do you know chivalry isn't dead after all."

"Whatever you say Miko." Kagome stepped out of the car and allowed Sesshoumaru to pull her up but as soon as she put pressure on her injured foot she yelped and started to fall. Sesshoumaru quickly used the hand he was holding to spin her so that she fell with her back against his chest.

"Shippo!" Shippo appeared at the top of the stairs as soon as Sesshoumaru's voice reached him.

"Yeah?"

"The Miko is injured you will escort her inside." Shippo ran down the stairs to join them. As soon as Shippo was close Sesshoumaru shoved the girl away from him. Shippo caught her and glared at the older demon.

"Hey, don't treat Kagome that way." Sesshoumaru completely ignored him and returned to his car without another word. Shippo was scooping Kagome into his arms to hold her bridal style when Sesshoumaru threw one last comment over his shoulder.

"She is only a weak human." Kagome felt Shippo's anger flare as they watched the car drive away.

"I swear he's such a jerk." Kagome got the feeling that Sesshoumaru's sudden change in attitude was caused by Shippo's presence. Shippo carried her up to the house and used his foot to tap on the door. When Kagome's mother answered the door she looked surprised.

"Kagome?"

"Hey mom. I got blisters on my feet and some broke open so Shippo is carrying me so I don't have to walk."

"Well come in, isn't Shippo the name of that little boy with the tail in your pictures?" Kagome's mother held open the door for Shippo to carry her inside.

"Yeah and if you'll point me to a place where I can set down Kagome I'll take off this jacket around my waist and show it to you."

"Really? How is it that you've grown so fast? Better yet how did you get through the well? Kagome dear didn't you say the well had closed up? Come with me." Kagome's mother motioned for Shippo to follow her as she moved toward Kagome's room.

"It is mom. Shippo is a demon like inuyasha he's just five hundred years older now."

"My you must have some interesting stories to have lived so long." Shippo placed Kagome on the bed and untied the jacket from his waist and Kagome couldn't believe how long and fluffy it was, considering a large jacket around the waist was enough to cover it. "Wow it reminds me of the first time we saw Inuyasha's ears." Shippo swished it expertly before he sat on the bed beside Kagome. Her mother left just long enough to get the first aide kit before she came back and started to bandage Kagome's foot. While Shippo and her mom talked Kagome stayed quiet. Shippo and her mother talking just reminded her exactly how much things had changed. When her mother finished bandaging her foot and left Kagome turned to Shippo expectantly. She just wanted to get it over with so she could crawl into her bed.

"Alright what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well mostly I just wanted to apologize for what happened the other night. I shouldn't have left you like that when it was your first time drinking." The way he said it reminded her of the days when he had been shorter than her knee. Kagome wanted nothing more than to cry and see a more familiar face looking at her. Inside her head she couldn't help but laugh at herself, she never thought she would see the day when she wanted to see Sesshoumaru more than she wanted to see Shippo.

"Well I guess I forgive you." Shippo threw his arms around her happily before quickly letting go and standing to tie his jacket around his waist again.

"I was going to see if you wanted to go get some ice cream with me but seeing as how you're hurt how about a rain check?" Kagome had to fight not to cringe when he asked her. The question was innocent enough but it sounded an awful lot like a date to her. Ever since she had realized that she loved Inuyasha more as family than as a boyfriend she really hadn't met a guy that she cared enough to try to date. Shippo was definitely not going to be the person to change that. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and hoped he was thinking of friendship more than courtship.

"Yeah sounds fun."

"Great! Thanks Kagome!" Shippo hesitated for a moment before he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Before Kagome could say anything he was gone. _Something tells me I'm going to regret that rain check. _


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own the anime associated with this fanfic. I must say I love this story more and more with every chapter I write. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to review and let me know if there are any errors please. I read through it and I think I fixed all the issues but I wrote this chapter after pulling a 10 hour night shift so who knows what I missed.

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The rest of the week was spent in mostly the same way. Kagome arrived at work early each morning, Sesshoumaru would treat her nicely all day, and they would get lunch together. Then he would drive her home where Shippo would be waiting to ask her if she felt like getting that Ice cream yet. And every day as soon as Shippo came into the picture Sesshoumaru's attitude would do a complete 180 and he'd be the same cold Sesshoumaru he was in the feudal era. Once Sesshoumaru drove off in a huff Kagome would have to spend an hour convincing Shippo that she was too tired to go out for ice cream. All together it was a very tiring week.

Today was Saturday and Kagome was more than ready to finish her work and go home. Since today was the day she had to catch up on all the filing everyone put off until Friday she was still putting away papers at 9pm. She hadn't even gone through the mail for that day yet because the stack of papers to file had been so high. Sesshoumaru had also been there all day typing reports on his computer amongst whatever else he did on there all day.

"Miko?" Kagome had just put away the final paper when he called to her.

"Yes lord Sesshoumaru?"

"What events are supposed to take place next Tuesday night?" Kagome walked to her desk and clicked on the calendar and opened the new mail while the screen loaded. There was a new invitation in the mail for a charity ball and there was another charity event scheduled already.

"Well today you received an invitation from a children's charity to a ball, but there's already a charity event lined up that day for a religious charity."

"Switch them. Children's charities always take priority over other types of charities." Kagome nodded to him and quickly typed in the changes. She quickly scheduled the other events from the new mail before she closed the window. When Kagome looked up from her screen she noticed that Sesshoumaru was staring out the window into space. He looked as though he was a thousand miles away at that moment. The frown on his face mixed with the dark chocolate color of his contacts made him look almost miserable at that moment. Kagome turned away and tried to find something else to do but she had finally finished all her work. She debated with herself for a few moments before she hesitantly walked over to Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru?" His eyes snapped up to meet hers questioningly still looking rather sad. "Are you alright?" His expression turned to one of surprise at her question.

"Of course I am alright, why would this Sesshoumaru not be alright?" Kagome let a slow smile spread across her face before she turned toward the door.

"I suppose you're right. My work is finished if you're ready to go." Kagome grabbed her purse and turned back toward Sesshoumaru only to run into a body and scream.

"You are a pain on ones ears. I am ready to leave. Since tomorrow is not a work day would you like to go out to the park with me?" Kagome tried to decipher the emotions that were hiding behind those dark brown contacts of his but they remained a mystery to her. _I think he may actually need my company for once. _

"Yeah." It may have been Kagome's imagination but he seemed almost relieved that she had agreed. _O should really have my head examined. The only reason he's being nice right now is because nobody else is around._ The trip over to the park was rather quiet. They both changed and walked to the cliff together silently.

"Why aren't you talking," Sesshoumaru asked after he had retrieved to arrow for the third time. Kagome held out her hand for the arrow but he didn't hand it to her. When she was certain he wasn't going to give it back to her without an answer she blew out a long sigh.

"You don't particularly seem to be in the mood for conversation." He blinked at her for a moment before slowly handing her the arrow. She shot it and he went after it.

"You are very perceptive for a human." He stated when he returned once more hesitating to return the arrow.

"I'll take that as the closest thing to a compliment I'll ever hear from you." He snorted and gave up the arrow again. After several more shots Sesshoumaru held the arrow again twirling it gently in his fingers. Kagome waited patiently for whatever he was about to say.

"You know Rin really wanted me to convince you to teach her to use a bow." Her heart constricted violently as she realized where Sesshoumaru's thoughts had gone.

"You do children's charities in honor of her don't you?" He nodded slowly and handed her back the arrow but Kagome didn't shoot. "What happened to her?" His eyes slammed shut and he breathed deeply for a moment.

"A few years after you left our time I left her with Jaken because another demon had encroached on my territory. I killed the demon and returned to my pack to find they had been massacred. To this day I do not know who killed them." Her heart broke for him. She never thought she would see Sesshoumaru so openly hurt. "She brought a light into my life that I took for granted. I never treated her, or Jaken for that matter, as well as they deserved. To lose them both in one day threw me into a darkness that I never knew existed. Even before Rin came into my life I had Jaken. I was so concerned with myself, so certain that to show them I cared was to show weakness. I ended up losing them." Kagome took a step closer wanting to hug him but forcing herself not to. She was fairly certain that was not what the demon needed. What he really needed was for someone to listen to his pain without mocking him for it.

"That's awful." Sesshoumaru nodded slowly as he looked up at the moon.

"Yes. I threw myself at any opponent that crossed my path hoping one would kill me. I never came across one that I couldn't defeat. Several years later I came across Inuyasha after he found a way to make himself fully demon without losing control. He managed to knock some sort of sanity back into my head and I joined his pack. Though really it should have been your pack, if you had not come to our time none of the members of that pack would have been allied. Two full demons, a half breed, and three humans in one group were completely unheard of." Sesshoumaru turned his eyes back to look at her with a light chuckle. "But you did that didn't you? I shouldn't be surprised. In today's time everyone is concerned with equality for all races. Even if they don't know there are races amongst them who would rather kill them then looking at them." Kagome found herself wondering exactly how many demons had made it through time. _How many demons are hiding who they are to survive the modern world_? "By the way, Miko?"

"Yes?" She looked up to see a flat expression on his face.

"Have I ever told you how very short you are?" Kagome felt a vein pop in her forehead as his face broke into a wide grin.

"I am not short you're just unusually tall." He was shaking his head before she even finished talking.

"Nope, you're short." Kagome growled and Sesshoumaru froze. He blinked at her several times before he started to laugh hysterically. "That was literally the most pathetic excuse for a growl this Sesshoumaru has ever heard."

"What I wouldn't give for some subjugation beads right about now."

"As yes but you don't have any, now do you?" She turned on her heel and started to walk toward the car. "Where are you going Miko?"

"Away from you! I don't have to take this kind of abuse." She yelped when he suddenly popped up in front of her pointing toward the cliff.

"Get back over there and shoot the damn arrow." Something about Sesshoumaru standing there pointing with one hand with his other hand on his hip while he was wearing his feudal era ensemble struck her as funny. Kagome started laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. After a few minutes her laughs turned into a scream as Sesshoumaru tossed her over his shoulder and carried her back to the cliff. When he set her on her feet she smacked his chest. "Was that supposed to hurt?"

"You're impossible!" Kagome yelled at him before taking aim at one of the trees with her arrow. She super charged it and grumbled under her breath, "I swear you get off on making me mad." Then she let the arrow go and Sesshoumaru took off after it. After several more rounds of her shooting and him bringing back the arrow Kagome was starting to get cold.

"You're shivering Miko." Sesshoumaru stated when he brought the arrow back again.

"So?" She went to take aim and froze when he laid one clawed hand on her arm.

"You will become sick if you do not get to warmth." She slowly lowered her arrow and admitted defeat.

"Fine." Sesshoumaru nodded and started to walk towards the car.

"Good, I will drive you home." Kagome checked her cell phone and noted that if he took her home now it would be 1 in the morning by the time she got home and the house would be dark. She hated going home to a dark house; it always made her feel lonely.

"Please don't drive me home tonight!" She blurted before she could stop herself. Sesshoumaru turned to her slowly and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why?" Kagome looked down at her hands and refused to look at him. Suddenly a finger hooked under her chin and forced her to look up at him but she kept her eyes turned away. "Why." He repeated more forcefully making her turn her eyes to him slowly.

"Cause I don't want to feel alone." His eyes widened at her confession and she forced herself to continue. "Please don't drive me home Sesshoumaru. I don't want to go home to a dark house right now." He studied her face quietly for a moment before he nodded and released her chin.

"I have a sleeping bag for you in the trunk if you would prefer to stay here for the night. I'll make a fire for your warmth." Kagome followed him quietly back to the car where he took the bow and quiver from her to put back in the trunk. He then handed her the sleeping bag a motioned for her to follow him. Before she knew it they were sitting at the edge of a large field around a roaring fire. Sesshoumaru sat with his back to a tree while she sat on the sleeping bag.

"Thank You Sesshoumaru." Sesshoumaru snorted softly as an answer and they both stared into the fire. Kagome found herself missing Sango. After a long while she stated her thoughts, "I miss Sango." Sesshoumaru looked at her without saying anything, silently ushering her on. "It really hasn't hit me yet that she and Miroku are…. gone. It hasn't even really hit me yet that Inuyasha and Shippo have changed. I feel like this is one big nightmare and I'm going to wake up any time now to find out that the last three years have been a dream and the well never closed." Sesshoumaru was nodding to her words.

"I felt that same for a long time after Rin and Jaken passed. It'll hit you. Even if my little brother and the fox have changed at least they're still there for you. Even after five hundred years they still care for you. They'll help you through the emotional battles of the grieving process. We've all been through it enough to know how to get through it." Even if he didn't really like her and the bond they shared was flimsy at best, she was glad for Sesshoumaru's wise words. She found herself nodding slowly as she wrapped her arms around herself for extra warmth.

"They do still care don't they? It may have been three years for me but it was five hundred for them. They waited five hundred years to find me and never forgot our friendship. That has to count for something, right?" She looked hopefully. Sesshoumaru nodded slowly.

"I cannot speak for the fox, but I know my younger brother considers you to be a pack member and as a half dog demon, now a full dog demon, I know he is fiercely loyal to any member of his pack. It is a trait of my breed that has always held true. To lose a member of the pack is unacceptable; when a pack member becomes lost they must be tracked down no matter how long it takes."

"If I had never shattered the jewel in the first place our lives would be completely different."

"Yes they would, but that was where your path led you. When you shattered the jewel you awaked the evil in the world at that time, yes. At the same time your pack helped so many and saved so many lives in the process that the ends justified the means." Kagome scooted closer to the fire trying to soak in the warmth and drive away the cold that was stabbing into her back. "You're still cold."

"I'll be fine." Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the ground. Kagome watched him curiously as he walked away from the trees behind her to the large open field. He kept glancing back at her and when he finally decided he was far enough away he stopped. Kagome shivered as the wind suddenly picked up. She instantly knew he was transforming into his dog form. When the transformation was done he was a bit larger then she remembered. The large white dog demon trotted back over and carefully settled behind her. He was only about five feet from her and she could already feel his body heat radiating off of him like some kind of super furnace. "Thanks." She smiled up at him appreciatively and he nodded his very large head. "You know when you were trying to kill me in this form I never noticed how fluffy you were." Sesshoumaru rolled his big red eyes at her before he laid his head down on top of one of his paws and closed them. _I wonder if he likes having his ears scratched? _She studied him for a moment as she pondered the question. _I'll never find out unless I try, after all if I ask he'll never admit it._ Kagome gather her courage and when Kagome felt warm enough she walked around so she was standing directly in front of Sesshoumaru's nose. One red eye slowly opened to focus on her. "Don't kill me ok?" His other eye shot open and he raised one furry eyebrow at her. She walked over to the paw he wasn't laying on and walked around so she could watch his eye before she placed both her hands on top of his paw. She was extremely surprised at how soft his fur was. His eye narrowed on her and she almost changed her mind. She leaned the top of her body forward and put pressure on his paw so he would know she was about to push up. His watchful gaze didn't change so she pushed herself up on his paw so she was sitting on top. "Lift me up please." His eye narrowed even more and he didn't move his paw. "Look you and I both know I can't do a thing to you so just lift me up, ok?" The large red eye studied her for a long moment before he finally lifted his paw. Kagome hopped over so she was sitting on top of his head. The large dog started to growl a low warning to her. She could tell the demon was not at all certain that he liked her being on top of his head. Kagome took a deep breath before she reached out her hand to scratch the ear that was closest to her. The growl instantaneously changed into from being a warning to showing obvious pleasure. Kagome glanced behind her to see the end of his tail wagging slowly. "Glad to know you like it Sesshoumaru." She scratched him behind the ear until she finally fell asleep.

Kagome woke with a start when she rolled off her bed onto a soft surface. When Kagome opened her eyes she scrambled backwards away from the glowing eyes of whatever monster her sleepy brain had conjured. She landed flat on her back on the ground and laid there with her eyes shut.

"Miko?" As soon as she heard Sesshoumaru's voice she remembered exactly who the red eyes belonged to. She sat up and blinked at the demon owlishly. "Forget where you were," he asked with a smirk. Kagome blushed a tomato red color and turned her back to him.

"No." Sesshoumaru chuckled and sat down beside her.

"You should not bother to lie to me, even if it is out of embarrassment. I can smell it on you. You know if you face that way you'll miss the sunrise." Kagome sighed and turned around so that she was facing the same way he was.

"How can you smell a lie?"

"It's more like I can smell the difference in your body chemistry. Body chemistry changes with different emotions, especially with humans."

"That must be helpful." Sesshoumaru shrugged.

"Only after years of learning how to tune out the scents one doesn't care for. Especially with all the smoke and fumes and crowds it would be torturous to be a young demon in this time. Here it comes." Kagome turned just in time to see the first rays of the sun shoot up over the horizon. The two sat quietly for a long time and watched until the sun was fully up. When Kagome turned her attention to Sesshoumaru he was already looking at her. He looked away and pushed himself off the ground to stretch. "Your mother will be worried about you. I should take you home." Kagome nodded slowly before standing up and following him back to the car.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own the anime associated with this fanfic. Yay for all the wonderful reviews! Be sure to write lots more!

* * *

"Tuesday night you will accompany me to the charity ball." Those had been the words he had left her with when he dropped her off at her mother's house. _Why is he making me go? _Kagome was not at all comfortable with the thought of dancing in a big crowd. _The man is extremely good looking and could take anybody he wants why would he bother to take me. _Kagome dragged herself up the stair to her home and found her mother was already up and cooking breakfast.

"Kagome? Where were you so early in the morning?"

"I went camping with a couple of my friends from the old days." Kagome ran past her and up to her room to change her clothes. She had just pulled a t-shirt on when her cell phone started ringing. "Hello?"

"Kagome! How are you feeling this morning?" _He and the others are still my friends after all this time. The least I can do is try to get to know the people they've become. _With that thought Kagome determined that she would go hang out with him today.

"Great actually, are you free to hang out today?"

"Absolutely I'll come pick you up now and we can go get breakfast." He made have changed physically but when he was excited for something he sounded like the same kid she used to know. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard to do after all.

About thirty minutes later Kagome was running out her front door down to Shippo's car. Shippo's car was sky blue in color and looked like some you would see on a street racing movie. Shippo was leaning against it with his arms crossed and grinning at her.

"Finally have time to hang out with your friends?" He opened the door for her and let her get in before he walked around to his own side of the car. "You smell like Sesshoumaru. I guess I'll have to deal with that since you work for the guy. Any particular favorite places for breakfast foods?"

"Denny's!" Shippo laughed at her over excitement before he put the car into drive.

"Denny's it is then." Shippo flipped on the radio and they pulled away from the curb. The station he had it on happened to be her favorite. As they drove around looking for a Denny's they both sang at the top of their lungs to almost every song that played. _This really isn't that bad. _Kagome thought as they laughed over a lyric she had messed up. She looked out the window and spotted the Denny's sign off in the distance.

"Denny's ahoy!" She started pointing frantically as Shippo laughed at her. A short while later Shippo was watching with wide eyes as Kagome ate the oddest concoction of pancake and toppings possible.

"How can you handle that much sugar?" Kagome chewed her pancake carefully and swallowed before answering him.

"Practice." Shippo shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Wow Kagome I never pegged you for a sugar fiend." Kagome shrugged one shoulder and shoved her last bite of pancake into her mouth. "Where do you want to go after this?" Kagome thought about it for a long moment before she settled on a place.

"I want to go walk around the park." Shippo nodded his head and stood. He paid for their meal even as Kagome protested him doing so.

"Kagome, I am paying whether you like it or not so go out to the car and accept it." Kagome huffed and stomped her way out to his car.

"Stupid demons and their insistence on paying for my things." Kagome heard a light chuckled behind her and she turned to glare at said demon.

"Now you're insulting my intelligence simply because I won't let you pay for yourself? How very mature of you." Kagome stuck her tongue out at him and got into the car slamming the door behind her.

"Don't be like that, it doesn't suite you at all." Kagome snorted and turned to stare out the window. _And how would you know what does and doesn't suite me? For you it's been years since we've hung out at all Shippo. _"Kagome? Hey Kagoooome." She turned to look at him and realized that they were already at the park. _Denny's must be closer to the park then I thought it was. _"Are we going for a walk or not?" Kagome jumped out of the car and walked with Shippo as they watched the other people in the large park. For the first time that morning they were completely silent. "You know I really missed you Kagome." _That didn't last long. I wonder if he's capable of being quiet, _Kagome thought to herself as a group of kids ran past them.

"I missed you too." She wasn't really lying. She did miss Shippo, just the younger version.

"Really I wanted to come see you shortly after you were born. If it wasn't for Inuyasha and the others I probably would have come to you a long time ago." Kagome wasn't paying much attention to where she was walking as she listened to him talk so when she felt his fingers brush against the palm of her hand she jerked away thinking she had run into him. When she noticed the look on his face though she knew she hadn't run into him at all.

"Sorry Shippo, I didn't mean to run into you." He blew out a long sigh and shook his head obviously thinking she hadn't realized he had just tried to grab her hand.

"Don't worry about it. You want some ice cream?" Kagome looked in the direction he was pointing and nodded her head. Any sort of distraction was fine with her at the moment. _I can't believe he just tried to hold my hand. What on earth is he thinking? _This time when Shippo paid Kagome kept quiet. This had just become a really awkward moment and she wasn't sure how to fix it. All to soon they finished their ice creams and threw away the napkins. Kagome found herself sitting on the edge of a fountain in the middle of the park next to Shippo. "Kagome?" When she turned Shippo's face was only inches from hers. Her eyes widened and a deep blush covered her face as she realized that he was getting closer. She glanced behind him at the water and shoved him back without any hesitation. _I'm surprised that worked considering he's a demon. _

"Got you Shippo," She exclaimed with a bright smile on her face. The soaked fox demon glared up at her for a moment without reacting. Kagome didn't even have time to scream before he yanked her down into the water with him. They both laughed for a long moment before they went quiet. After a few seconds of awkward silence Kagome stood up and scratched the back of her head nervously. "Well I suppose you should take me home so we can both get changed."

"I suppose you're right." Shippo climbed out of the fountain and helped Kagome over the edge before he took her home. "I'm glad we got to spend this time together Kagome."

"Me to Shippo," Kagome said before she jumped out of the car. "I'll see you some other time I guess." Kagome took off before he could answer almost happy to get away from the awkward situation.

* * *

Tuesday evening came far to quickly for Kagome's liking. Sesshoumaru had been so busy that she hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him at all. He had been in meetings with a particular man during lunch both days and on Monday evening. Kagome was waiting for the elevator and thinking about what on earth she was going to wear. Sesshoumaru hadn't even told her what time he was coming for her yet.

"Miko." Kagome turned to see Sesshoumaru walking toward her just as the elevator dinged. "We'll be meeting my client at the charity event so if you'd like I can give you a ride this evening."

"That would be nice, thank you. Actually I've wanted to speak with you for the past two days. I'm not really the sort of person that goes to parties. I don't even have anything to wear." They reach the level of the parking garage and Sesshoumaru motioned for her to follow him.

"To be honest I did not expect you to own anything that was up to my standard." When they reached the car Sesshoumaru opened the door for her and picked up a rectangular box from the passenger seat. "So I took the liberty of obtaining a dress that was." Kagome hesitated for a moment before she took the offered box.

"Sesshoumaru I'm really not comfortable with any of this. I don't like you spending money on me and it really isn't proper for me to go with my boss to a ball. Why are you making me go anyway?" Sesshoumaru waited until they were both in the car before he answered her.

"You are correct in the fact that it isn't exactly proper for me to take my secretary. Think of it this way Miko, with you there are no expectations. You know who and what I am, you know not to expect anything from me. It's true that tabloids will create their own drama, but for myself, that's much less of a hassle then finding a female in today's time that doesn't expect anything from me." _I never thought of it that way. _Kagome sat quietly until they reached her mother's house. Sesshoumaru opened her door and helped her out. "I see the fox isn't here today."

"Yeah well that's an awkward situation that I'd prefer not to discuss." Sesshoumaru rose his eyebrow at her but he didn't question her words.

"I'll be by to pick you up at 8." Kagome nodded and started to walk up the stairs. "Miko." She turned just in time to catch the box with her dress in it. When she looked up Sesshoumaru was already pulling away. Kagome sighed heavily and made her way to her room. When she got there she laid the box down on the bed and stared at it for a few minutes. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what would be awaiting her. _Well it's not like I have anything else to wear. Sesshoumaru is an old fashioned demon so I doubt he picked out something that isn't proper. _With that thought in mind Kagome finally pulled open the box. From what she could see upon opening the box the dress was sapphire blue in color and was made of silk. She pulled the dress out of the box and carefully slipped it on surprised to find that it was made to fit her perfectly. The dress was a one shoulder evening gown. In certain light the dress was very plain but when she moved the dressed sparkled under certain lights. She was covered enough to not feel exposed bbut the one visible shoulder still gave the dress a tastfully sexy look. Kagome decided to go with minimal make-up and pulled her hair into a neat bun. By the time she was satisfied with her appearance it was three minutes to 8. Kagome hit the bottom of the stairs at the same moment that the doorbell rang. As soon as she walked into the room Sesshoumaru's eyes lock on her over her mother's head. "Mrs. Higurashi I'm here to pick up your daughter who is accompanying me as my assistant to a charity event that our company takes a large part in."

"Oh my what time should I expect you to bring her home."

"Around 10 after all we have work to attend in the morning." Kagome allowed her eyes to wonder as her mother and Sesshoumaru discussed other minor details. She had to admit for a thousand year old demon he looked drop dead sexy in a tux. When Kagome finally dragged her eyes back up to his face she realized he was smirking at her. _Oh lord he'll never let me live this down. _She rolled her eyes at him before she walked forward and slipped out the door between the two of them.

"Have a good time dear!" Kagome waved her hand vaguely and kept walking. As soon as she heard the door closed Sesshoumaru appeared at her side with a smug little smirk on his face.

"How very bold of you to scrutinize a daiyokai while he's looking at you." _I knew he wouldn't let me live it down._

"Shut up Mr. Taisho, I am not required to explain myself to you." At this point his smirk broke into a full on grin.

"I'm afraid I will do no such thing." He held open the car door for her and then continued once he was inside the car. "Oh and as your boss you do answer to me my dear." Sesshoumaru turned the car on and glanced at her one last time. Without another word he reached over and sliced her hairtie with a single claw. Kagome's jaw dropped as her thick wavy hair cascaded around her shoulder. "Also as your boss that's much better," he said as he put the car into drive.

"I can't believe you just did that." Sesshoumaru chuckled under his breath but didn't reply. As soon as they turned onto the street Kagome felt nervousness wash over her. A large crowd of people was gathered around the entrance with lights flashing over and over again. Sesshoumaru pulled into the line of vehicles and glanced over at her.

"Calm down Miko, your nervousness is so strong I can smell it." The closer they came to the crowd the more terrified she felt.

"Sesshoumaru I don't know if I can do this." Sesshoumaru laughed at her obvious show of nerves.

"You'll stand up to a demon but the thought of facing the paparazzi scares you?" He put the car in park and pulled the keys from the ignition and turned to look her in the eye.

"You will be fine. Stay in the car until I come around for you and just hold onto my arm. This is a small event so once we get inside there will only be a few people there." Kagome nodded without taking her eyes off of the crowds. She heard his door open and close and waited an eternity for him to open her door. When he finally did he offered his hand to assist her out of the car which she was thankful for since she wasn't sure her legs would hold her. When she was standing beside him he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. He led her the twenty feet to the entrance as people yelled questions and cameras flashed. As soon as they were inside the atmosphere became completely calm. The two of them walked across the entrance hall to a man in a suit holding a list.

"Good evening Mr. Taisho." Sesshoumaru nodded to the man as he led Kagome past the man and into the ballroom. About fifty well-dressed people were having quiet conversation or waltzing.

"I told you it would calm down inside."

"Mr. Taisho I daresay I'm seeing a lot of you this week." They both turned to see a man with hair hanging just past his ears and glasses walking toward them. "And who is this beautiful woman you've brought with you."

"This is my assistant, Ms. Higurashi. Ms. Higurashi this is Mr. Hitachiin." _Ah, so this is the man who Sesshoumaru has been meeting with for the past two days._

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Hitachiin." Kagome offered him her hand to shake but instead he pulled her hand up to press his lips gently to her knuckles.

"Likewise." Kagome blushed brightly and gently pulled her hand from his grasp. She spotted a refreshment table with water bottles on one end to her left and felt like she needed a drink to clear her head.

"Well if you gentleman will excuse me one of those bottled waters has my name on it." She slipped away and quietly made her way over to the table. As she began sipping the water she used her peripheral vision to watch the man speaking with Sesshoumaru. He kept glancing in her direction as he talked. She knew Sesshoumaru well enough now that it was obvious to her that whatever the man was saying was displeasing him. She slowly twisted the cap back onto her bottle of water and start back toward the two hoping that she would be able to get rid of the man somehow. As soon as she approached them the man stepped away with a small wave.

"Well Mr. Taisho I suppose I'll release you to greet the other members of the trust fund." Kagome watched him until he was out of earshot before she commented on the hidden frustration in his stance.

"You seem displeased." Sesshoumaru sighed and ran his fingers through his hair frustratedly.

"It's nothing. I've been trying to get that contemptible human to sell me his company and all he's interested in talking about is my secretary." He sent her a rueful smile that made her feel bad. The two of them talked to several other people throughout the night. Sesshoumaru wrote out a check for a rather large amount and put it into a donations box. The entire time Kagome watched for the man that had frustrated Sesshoumaru. She wasn't sure what exactly she could do to help but she figured if he was interested in her there had to be something she could do. When she finally spotted him he was standing beside the refreshment table.

"Mr. Taisho I will return shortly I'm going to get another bottle of water." Sesshoumaru nodded and waved her off as he continued discussing something the charity was working toward with another man. Kagome quickly moved to the refreshment table and sidled up beside the man as she grabbed her water. "Hello again Mr. Hitachiin."

"Ah Ms. Higurashi I was hoping I would get to speak with you again before the evening ended." Kagome tried her best to seem charming and innocent as she blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I understand Mr. Taisho is trying to convince you to sell your company."

"Yes I recently announced that I was ready to sell and since then many parties have expressed interest. Let me guess you wanted to get points with your boss by coming over here and trying to somehow convince me that I should sell to him." Kagome blushed and felt like the rug had been ripped out from under her. _He saw through that plan before it was even fully created._

"I'm sorry." Kagome looked at him quickly when he chuckled under his breath.

"Don't be. I remember the days when I had to find ways to earn points when I wasn't the boss. I will make a deal with you though Ms. Higurashi. If you allow me to take you to dinner this Friday evening at 6PM sharp I will sell my company to Mr. Taisho. I will even make the call with you present before we sit down to dine. I have been on the fence between Mr. Taisho and another buyer but fortunately for you I find you rather attractive." Kagome couldn't believe her luck. She was about to put something into Sesshoumaru's hands that he apparently wanted greatly. She jotted down her address for him to pick her up at and handed it to him.

"Deal. This is my address I will see you Friday night at six." He smirked and took the napkin from her.

"Pleasure doing business with you."


	7. Chapter 7

As per usual I do not own this anime. Thank you for the reviews I appreciated them greatly!

On Friday evening at 5 she was riding down to the garage with Sesshoumaru. Kagome was almost giddy with excitement. Sesshoumaru had been trying to talk Mr. Hitachiin into selling all week and she was about to close the deal for him.

"By the way Miko, here's your first paycheck." Kagome looked over at the envelope in Sesshoumaru's hand and hesitantly took it from him. When she opened it and read the number she nearly fainted.

"Wow this is more than enough to get a good apartment with." Sesshoumaru glanced over at her curiously.

"You want an apartment?"

"Well yes. I can't become a burden on my mother by living at home forever." Sesshoumaru nodded slowly as they followed their usual ritual for getting into the car.

"How very responsible of you. If you would like I own a high end apartment building not far from my company. With what I pay you, you could definitely afford it and I happen to have an opening. The apartment comes fully furnished. We could take tomorrow off and I could take you to see it." Kagome found herself shocked. She couldn't believe her luck or how much Sesshoumaru had helped her since they had met.

"Thank you Sesshoumaru I would appreciate that a lot. Actually I really need to thank you for a lot more than that. You've helped me in a lot of ways." Sesshoumaru waved vaguely as he pulled up to her mother's house.

"Since we aren't working tomorrow would you like me to pick you up later for a trip to the park?"

"I actually have plans that start at six but they shouldn't last very long so if you still want to go I'll call you as soon as they're done." He looked away from her out the window obviously not happy with the fact that she had plans. _Don't worry Sesshoumaru you'll be thanking me later._

"What kind of plans?" Kagome was surprised that he had even asked. When she hesitated to answer he turned to look at her with the emotionless face she was used to.

"Well a dinner date if you must know." For a few seconds he just looked at her. Kagome wanted to jump out of the car and run.

"If these plans happen to be with the fox be careful. Fox demons are just as notorious for trickery as their animal counterparts." Kagome couldn't believe what he was saying and found herself immensely angry. Who was he to talk about her friend that way?

"For your information these plans have nothing to do with him but it's nice to hear you speak so lowly about my friends." She shoved open the door to the car and got out before Sesshoumaru could beat her to it. Sesshoumaru was by her side before she closed the door.

"I only spoke that way out of concern for your safety." Kagome squared her feet and glared up at him.

"I don't need your concern." With that she moved to walk away from him.

"Do not walk away from this Sesshoumaru when he is speaking to you, you pathetic human woman." She flipped him the bird and kept walking.

"You really do get off on pissing me off." He grabbed her wrist and before Kagome could think about the consequences she slapped him across the face. With that the angry tears started flowing down her face. Sesshoumaru turned his head slowly to look at her with the area around his contacts turned blood red in color. He stood there glaring at her for a long moment before he shoved her forward. She fell on the stairs scraping her knee before he turned his back on her.

"Do not assume that you know what does or does not get this Sesshoumaru off." He slammed his car door and burned rubber leaving. Kagome sat there for a minute debating whether or not she would cancel her diner date. _No I won't do that to him. After all he said it with the best of intentions._ She pushed herself off the steps and went up to the house to get ready. The doorbell rang just as she finished her hair. She had pulled out one of her old homecoming dresses and decided to put her hair into a bun with no make-up. She ran down the stairs and answered the door since her mother and grandpa were out for the day. She opened the door to find Mr. Hitachiin dressed in slacks and a white poet's shirt.

"Good evening my dear, are you ready to go?" When he offered his hand she hesitantly allowed him to tuck her own hand into the crook of his arm.

"Evening Mr. Hitachiin." He laughed lightly and led her down to his car.

"You may call me Kyo, after all this is technically an informal date even if it is for business purposes."

"In that case you may call me Kagome." He smiled over at her as he opened her door.

"Kagome, how pretty." They made simple small talk until they reached the restaurant. "Alright since you have held up your end of the bargain I will hold up mine." Kagome watched Kyo as he pulled out his cell phone and flipped through the contacts. When he found Mr. Sesshoumaru Taisho he showed her the number before pressing dial. "Mr. Taisho! I realize this may be odd timing but now that young Ms. Higurashi has come to speak so highly of your character I have decided that I will be selling to you after all." Kyo paused for a long time listening to what she assumed was Sesshoumaru's reply. She had to repress a laugh when the man nodded enthusiastically oblivious to the fact that Sesshoumaru could not actually see him do this. "Yes sir, I'll come into your office on Monday morning and we'll draw up the papers. You really should thank your lovely secretary after all I was wavering on my decision until she came to speak with me." As they finished up and said their goodbyes Kagome couldn't help but feel extremely proud of herself. She was still angry with Sesshoumaru but she was glad she could help him get something he wanted.

"Thank you for that." Kyo waved her off before getting out of the car and coming around to open her door.

"Do not thank me. It's been a long while since I've met someone that cared so deeply about what their boss wanted." Kagome smiled up at him and allowed him to lead her inside. They mostly shared small talk about themselves until eventually Kagome found herself curious as to why such a young man would give up the company he had worked so hard to create.

"Kyo, if I may ask, why exactly are you choosing to sell your company now?"

"You mean because of my age? Yes it isn't really considered normal for a young man to sell a company that is doing well. I'm simply tired of having to put on appearances for the world. I'm tired of being expected to take out beautiful young ladies when my tastes gravitate toward more unconventional fair. I'm ready to get out of the spotlight so that I don't have to give a damn about what others think of me." Kagome found herself feeling sorry for him and for Sesshoumaru. How terrible to have to hide who you truly are for the sake of appearances. "How long have you known Mr. Taisho?"

"Since I was fifteen, though back then I only knew him as my best friend's brother. Lately he has been helping me get on my feet in the world. I had a rough start in the world after high school. I spent so much time out of school sick that most jobs didn't want to hire me. I happened to apply as Sesshoumaru's assistant as a fluke since I never knew his last name." Kyo was grinning by the time she finished talking.

"You're trying very hard not to fall for him aren't you?" Kagome felt her cheeks heat up and shock wash over her. How could someone think she had any feelings for Sesshoumaru?

"No! I don't have those kinds of feelings for him he's just helping me through a rough patch. He's only doing it because of his brother; in all actuality the man hates me." At this point Kyo was laughing at her.

"Yes you do you just haven't admitted it to yourself yet. And by the way he reacted when I asked him if you were his woman I'd say he doesn't hate you. I can't really blame you for guarding your heart against him. The man is known for being a cold hearted ass when it comes to women. I hope it works out for you, after all you are a very sweet girl. Since we both appear to be finished are you ready to go?" Kagome nodded her head and allowed him to lead her out. Kyo stopped just long enough to pay the bill before he led her out to his car. When they arrived back at her house he opened the door for her and waited patiently for her to get out. "Thank you for the lovely evening Ms. Kagome Higurashi if I ever decide to change teams you'll deffinitly be the first girl I call."

"And thank you for the diner Kyo." The two of them shook hands in a friendly manner before Kagome started to head up the stairs. _Should I call Sesshoumaru? He was pissed when he left so I should probably just give him some space. _With that thought in mind Kagome prepared for a lonely night at her mother's house since no one was home. But when she reached the top of the stairs she was shocked to see Sesshoumaru pacing in front of her house. He looked up at her blankly for a moment before he made his way over to her.

"Since you and I separated on such a bad note I figured you wouldn't call so I decided to come and wait for you. If you still want to go that is." He was keeping his eyes downcast and obviously looked like he regretted what had happened between them.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Sesshoumaru sighed deeply before he looked her in the eye.

"I was wrong. I should have known better than to speak ill of your friend and I deeply appreciate what you have done for me." _Something tells me that is about as close to a thank you or an I'm sorry as I'm ever going to get. _

"Alright Sesshoumaru, just let me get changed." He nodded and turned toward the road.

"I will wait for you at the car." Kagome quickly changed into warmer more comfortable clothes and then went down to meet Sesshoumaru at the car. "So may I ask exactly how you managed to get Hitachiin to sell to me?"

"He made a deal with me at the charity that if I would have dinner with him he would sell to you." Sesshoumaru glanced over at her curiously.

"And all he wanted was dinner?" Kagome laughed at the implications in his voice. No straight man would ask a girl to dinner without any other intentions so Kagome was glad it had been Kyo that she had gone to dinner with.

"His tastes run toward more unconventional fair." She quoted Kyo's words and a looked of understanding. "That's why he's selling the company because he's tired of being something he's not."

"I know that feeling far to well," Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath as he pulled the car through the park entrance. Shortly after that they found themselves on their cliff in a ritual that had become a routine for them. They talked about a lot of things until Kagome made one comment that she should have known better than to ever say.

"You know I never thought I'd be playing an impromptu game of fetch with the demon lord of the western lands." When she released her arrow and realized Sesshoumaru hadn't moved she turned her eyes to look up at him as he glared at her. "Well that's what it is. I make something go and you bring it back." He narrowed his eyes further and started to slowly move toward her.

"This Sesshoumaru does not fetch." Kagome started to step away from him and every step he took closer she took one back. "I am not some domestic house pet and for you to insinuate such is demeaning. The only reason I return your arrows to you is so that I don't have to go find more, furthermore…" he cut himself off at the moment that Kagome's foot stepped off the side of the cliff. When he tried to grab for her the tips of his claws barely missed her wrist and she fell. Kagome screamed as she fell thinking she would hit the ground hard. Before she ever reached the ground a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and held her tightly against the body they were attached to until they landed safely. "You really need to learn your limits little Miko, a fall like that could have killed you." Kagome looked up into the surprisingly soft golden eyes of Sesshoumaru. He studied her face for a moment to make sure she was ok. As the two of them stood there staring at each other Kagome couldn't help but notice just how closely he was holding her. Then he tightened his hold on her and she felt like the gravity had been turned off. When they landed on top of the cliff Sesshoumaru released her and began walking toward the car. Just like that, the moment was lost and they were both scrambling to put their awkward friendship back into perspective.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own the anime. You make me sad my dears, it seems as I add more chapters I get less reviews. I'm feeling quite lonely. SPOILER ALEART: The episode of Deadliest Warrior mentioned is an actual episode and the winner of the episode is given.

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The next morning Kagome was climbing into Sesshoumaru's car so he could take her to see the apartment.

"I think you'll like it. It's much closer to work for the times when I can't take you home. You should always have a ride to and from work though since I live in the same building." It wasn't long before Sesshoumaru had them parked in the buildings attached garage. He held up a card and swiped it in a card reader beside the door making the door buzz as it unlocked. "You'll receive one of these by the end of today if you decide you like the apartment. The only people who can get in are people that have cards. As they rode up in the elevator Sesshoumaru continued to explain all the things included in her rent and she really couldn't believe how lucky she was to know Sesshoumaru.

"What floor is my apartment on exactly?" Sesshoumaru laughed and it took a minute for Kagome to get the joke.

"Your apartment? Sounds like you've accepted my offer already without even seeing the place. Since you asked though, YOUR apartment is on the eighth floor." Kagome blushed and followed Sesshoumaru out of the elevator. "Number 83." He slid his card through the slot and opened the door to the most amazing apartment she had ever seen. The place was clean and sharp and modern and exactly everything she could ever need. Sesshoumaru leaned against the wall at the edge of the entrance hall as she ran around checking on all the things included in her new apartment. Completely delighted in the things she found she squealed.

"Sesshoumaru this place is amazing!" Kagome ran up to Sesshoumaru and threw her arms around his neck. He laughed for a moment before he gently put her away from him.

"So you don't want the apartment right?" He was painfully sarcastic with a little grin on his face so Kagome slapped his chest lightly.

"Of course I want the apartment smart one."

"I thought you might. Come with me, you can see my apartment while I write up your rental agreement." He locked the door behind her as he ushered her toward the elevator. Once they got into the elevator Sesshoumaru inserted a key into a slot next to the top button and turned it while pressing it. When the elevator stopped he retrieved his key and led Kagome out into a huge apartment that looked like it would hold 100 people. It was basically a much larger and more expensive version of the one that was about to become hers.

"Wow you know Sesshoumaru I never expected you to live in such a modern apartment." Sesshoumaru laughed as he turned on the lights to his apartment.

"I dislike modern times but I'm not the sort to turn my nose up when it comes to luxury. This century has come up with many helpful things. You may look around while I find your forms." Sesshoumaru walked through a door and Kagome was left to her own devices. She found herself curiously attracted to Sesshoumaru's living room. The large L shaped couch was sitting and facing a large blank white wall which made no sense to her. She made herself comfortable on his couch and threw her feet up on the coffee table she yelped as the entire wall turned into a tv which was now loudly playing classic music. She sat up and quickly reached for the remote scrambling to turn off the complicated system. When she got the music to stop the white wall started to slide down into the floor revealing a huge floor to ceiling window that showed the entire city.

"Wow." She whispered as she moved closer to the window.

"Breathtaking isn't it?" Kagome shivered as his breath slid over her ear. She glanced over her shoulder so see him standing reasonably close to her back.

"It is. This view is amazing Sesshoumaru, I could stand here forever."

"Yes well, I have your papers over here." Kagome followed him back over to the couch where the papers and a pen were waiting on the coffee table. She settled on the couch and carefully read the agreement with Sesshoumaru sitting beside her. When she was sure she understood the terms she signed it and slid the paper over to Sesshoumaru. "Wonderful. If you'd like I'll take you over to retrieve your personal things and later we can have a house warming dinner. Sound good?" Kagome smiled brightly at him.

"Sounds wonderful." She followed Sesshoumaru back out and down to his car.

"You know it will be nice to have you as an apartment neighbor." Kagome couldn't help but giggle as the ice lord drove her over to her mother's house.

"Well I'm glad you think so." When they arrived he helped her pack her things while they waited for her mother and packed his car full with the things she wanted to take. They were sitting on the couch together chatting when her family came home.

"Oh hello again Mr. Taisho." Kagome stood from the couch and walked over to hug her mother.

"I found an apartment mom. Sesshoumaru is here to help me move in since he lives in the same building." Tear welled up in her mother's eyes.

"Oh sweetheart you be careful and when you get settled in you make sure you call us so we can come see your new home." When they separated her mother turned a stern eye on Sesshoumaru. "As for you young man, you better keep a protective eye on my daughter." He nodded his head as he looked at Kagome with soft brown eyes.

"I will protect her with my life ma'am." Kagome was touched to know that Sesshoumaru felt that strongly about her. Most people just said they would give their life for someone but with Sesshoumaru it was obvious that he meant it.

"Good did you already get everything packed?"

"Yes mama." Her mother nodded and pushed Kagome toward the door.

"Alright dear you best be going before I decide not to let you." Kagome allowed Sesshoumaru to lead her out to the car. They got back to the apartments and into the elevator with her things before she broke down crying. She didn't even bother to protest when she found herself pulled against Sesshoumaru's chest.

"You'll be fine little Miko. Every pup has to strike out on their own eventually." When the elevator dinged he held her at arm's length and dried her tears. "Come on, let's get your things into the apartment and then we'll go up to mine and I'll cook you dinner since you don't have any food." Kagome sniffled a little and nodded her head as she picked up her duffle bag and trash bag full of clothes. "There's a good girl." They went into her apartment and Sesshoumaru help her place her clothing, and decorations around the place making it feel a little more like home for her. Kagome kept quiet the entire time hoping not to burst into tears again.

"Well are you ready to go?" Kagome said finally as she turned to the door. Sesshoumaru gave her a light smile and as soon as the apartment door closed he threw a casual arm around her shoulders.

"You'll be fine. You're only a thirty minute walk from your mother and plenty of others who care for you. Would you like to invite the others over to celebrate your independence or shall it just be us?" Kagome stared at the floor as she thought about whether or not she wanted them there. When the elevator dinged to announce they were going into Sesshoumaru's home she decided.

"I think not. One adjustment at a time if you please." Sesshoumaru nodded and used the arm around her shoulder to lead her toward his sharp clean looking kitchen. He stopped just long enough to use his remote to turn on some music before continuing to lead her. He made her sit in one of the bar stools around the island and started pulling out pans and ingredients.

"Wow the Lord of the Western lands is performing domestic acts. I think I may faint." Sesshoumaru snorted and began slicing multiple types of veggies.

"You forget I took care of Rin for years. There's no shame in knowing how to provide for one's pack." Kagome watched fascinated as Sesshoumaru whipped up dinner in about thirty minutes. She could cook but he could have been a chef. When he was done he plated her food and handed it to her across the island. She found that the meat was extremely easy to cut and when she placed the first bite of food into her mouth she couldn't help the moan that left her lips. Sesshoumaru smirked at her as he took his place across from her at the island. "Are you going to be alright over there?"

"Oh my god Sesshoumaru you are the most amazing cook I've ever met." He shot her a cocky grin.

"Most cooks you've met haven't had a thousand years to learn." Kagome couldn't help but cringe at being reminded exactly how old he was. "You dislike knowing how old I am, why?" She was surprised that he guessed what she was thinking so easily.

"I don't know Sesshoumaru when I look at you, you don't appear that much older than me and to be reminded that in all actuality I'm hanging out with someone who by all rights should be more old and senile then my grandfather is slightly awkward."

"Humans and age I swear. I've come to realize that one's friendship with another person has nothing to do with age and everything to do with personality." Kagome's jaw dropped and she pretended to swoon.

"Did I just hear the Ice Lord speak of friendship with a human! How scandalous I think I may faint!" This time when she pretended to swoon she leaned back just a tad bit too far and the stool she was sitting on fell. She was fortunate to be hanging out with Sesshoumaru because he caught her with very little effort and snorted.

"You are the biggest klutz I've ever met little Miko." At that moment a slow song happened to come on and Kagome grabbed Sesshoumaru's hand and placed her other on his shoulder. Then she pulled his hand and pushed his shoulder as she stepped away hoping he would dance with her but not really expecting him to do so. To her surprise he took the lead from her and danced with her throughout the house. When they stopped in the living room they released each other and Kagome started to laugh.

"You really are full of surprises Sesshoumaru." He gave her a mocking bow before her turned to make his way toward another room.

"You have no idea. Now come here I forgot to give you your key card." Kagome followed after him as he went through a pair of doors and froze. He had a library in his apartment. She completely forgot about Sesshoumaru as she ran up to one of the shelves. History books lined the shelves and she found herself entranced as she read the titles. She had always loved history books. She pulled one that caught her eye off the shelf and began flipping through it. She jumped when and envelope was suddenly dropped on top of her book. "I take it you like books?" Kagome picked up the envelope and closed the book before carefully placing it back in its proper place.

"History books are my favorite."

"Really now, well then my dear I have something special to show you." Kagome watched as he walked over to a set of wooden drawers and carefully pulled out a scroll that was obviously very old. Kagome rushed over to look over his shoulder at the ancient writings. "These scrolls were handed through the family they are the writings of my family history." He walked around the table he was leaning against and spread the scroll upon it so she could see it better. As she looked over the writing she was extremely disappointed that she herself couldn't read it.

"It's beautiful I just wish I had the skills to read it." Sesshoumaru carefully put away the scroll and led her back out to the living room.

"If it interests you I would be willing to tell you of my family history. I've read the manuscripts myself many times."

"I would enjoy that very much." Kagome followed him into the living room where she sat on the couch next to Sesshoumaru. He picked up the remote and made the screen come up before he turned it to the television before handing the remote over to her.

"I assume you know how to run a remote." Kagome glared at him and smacked him in the leg with the remote.

"Of course I know how to run a remote what sort of idiot do you take me for." She quickly found an episode of Deadliest Warrior and settled in to see who would win. "Ooh George Washington vs. Napoleon Bonaparte!"

"It has to be the Frenchman. He had to battle through multiple countries and ended up with a large empire. The American only fought on his homeland against an enemy that was already exhausted from spending months at sea to reach him in the first place."

"You never really can tell how it's going to turn out. Washington had a foot of height on Napoleon and Napoleon was known for being an insomniac." Sesshoumaru shrugged and leaned back to lay his arms across the back of the couch.

"It'll come down to their weapons."

"Oh yeah it always does." With each weapon they took bets and argued over who would conquer in the end. "Well now Sesshoumaru we have a tie of weapons!"

"So we have, how about we make this a bit more interesting?"

"How so?" He smirked over at her and leaned forward.

"If my Frenchman wins you owe me one favor of my choosing which you cannot refuse." _A favor of his choosing, I'm almost afraid to find out what he would ask of me._

"What do I get if the American wins?"

"Same thing, one favor which can be used at any time and I cannot refuse." Kagome debated for a moment before she decided that he was too much of a gentleman to ask her to do anything terrible.

"You're on." They shook hands and turned to the TV.

"I'm going to enjoy my favor from you little Miko."

"We shall see." As the final battle of the show raged they both watched until finally Washington managed to win the battle.

"YES!" Kagome jumped off the couch screaming and hopping around.

"Yes, your American won. You have won the favor." Kagome immediately calmed down and studied the demon. He really didn't seem all that worried.

"I think I'll save it for a rainy day since it's so late I should get downstairs to my apartment." Sesshoumaru grabbed the envelope holding her key which she had dropped on the coffee table and handed it to her.

"I'll walk you down." The two went down to Kagome's floor and Sesshoumaru walked her to her door. "Goodnight Miko, sleep well."

"Goodnight Sesshoumaru." He began walking away as she opened the envelope. Kagome was shocked to find that there was an extra key in the envelope. "Wait Sesshoumaru!" He stopped and looked over his shoulder without actually turning his body. "What is this for?" She held up the key in question but the only reply she got was a smile before he continued walking.

"Save it for a rainy day." Kagome watched him until he disappeared around the corner to the elevators before she made her way to a long night in a strange bed.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own the anime this fanfic is based off of. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for taking so long to update. We shut off our internet so we could save money to move from one state to another. And since moving I haven't had the time to write until now. So here you go! Hope you like it.

On Monday Kagome was rushing to catch up on all the paperwork that had been filed last minute on Friday. She was glad that Sesshoumaru had helped her out with the apartment but now she sorely wished they had only taken off early rather than taking the whole day. Kyo was scheduled to show up at any minute so Sesshoumaru was shuffling through papers and carefully reviewing the purchase deal to make sure everything was prepared. Just at that moment the door opened to reveal the man in question. Kyo look absolutely giddy as he made his way up to Sesshoumaru's desk.

"Good morning Taisho! Doesn't it seem like a fabulous day to relieve oneself of a burden?" He sat down in front of Sesshoumaru's desk and crossed his legs in a way that made Kagome wonder why nobody had questioned his tastes.

"Yes well this is the deal I drew up you can read it and let me know about any changes you feel necessary." Sesshoumaru slid the papers across the desk to Kyo who gave them an annoyed glare.

"Just tell me does this basically say you are relieving me of all responsibilities but keeping my company the same and putting your name on it?" Sesshoumaru looked surprised for a moment.

"Well yes."

"Then I don't need to read anything." Kyo signed the papers without another word and slid them back over to Sesshoumaru. "I'm just glad to finally be able to be myself again." Kyo stood and ran over to Kagome. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sesshoumaru shoot to his feet as the edges of his eyes turned red around his contacts. "OMG Kagome thank you, thank you, thank you!" When he threw his arms around her she hugged him back so she could mouth the words calm down to Sesshoumaru. His demeanor relaxed and his eyes turned their normal color but he was still glaring agitatedly at the other male.

"Don't mention it Kyo." He finally stepped back and held her at arm's length.

"No Kagome, you really have no idea what sort of impact you've had on my life. I've been forced to hide who I really was and now I just feel free. My partner is going to be so thrilled not to have to hide and sneak around anymore. Make sure you keep in contact girl, I want to know about every promotion you carve out for yourself." Kagome smiled and nodded as she tried to keep herself from laughing at Sesshoumaru's sudden look of shock.

"Mrs. Higarashi needs to get back to her work." Kyo pouted at Sesshoumaru but said his goodbyes anyway. As soon as the elevator doors closed Kagome burst out laughing. "And what exactly do you think is so funny?"

"Your face when you finally realized he was gay." Sesshoumaru snorted and they both started to get back to work.

"Yes well I've been meeting with that young man since he was old enough for his father to bring him to work and I never caught on. Forgive me for being a bit shocked that he managed to hide it so well from even a demon."

"Well you finally have the company you've been trying so hard to buy out so are we going to go out and celebrate?" Sesshoumaru cleared his throat and started shuffling about.

"Actually the celebration plans have already been made." Kagome crossed her arms and glared at him as he continued to avoid looking at her.

"And what exactly are those plans?" Sesshoumaru blew out a long breath and finally looked up at her from his desk.

"The others want to see you. Inuyasha is especially hurt by your continued absence. I know they have changed but they really do still care. Therefore the celebration plans are that we are going out to that club they like so much." Kagome cringed visibly as she continued to file away papers. She wasn't at all sure that she wanted to go out with them after how terribly the last time had gone. So far every time she had gone out with her old friends it had gone badly.

"Sesshoumaru I'm not sure that's such a great idea."

"Why not? I'll be there to make sure you don't get lost again if you choose to drink at all. The others really miss you and want a chance to make you see that they're still the same people." Kagome hesitated for a moment before she turned to Sesshoumaru.

"Can you promise me that tonight won't go terribly wrong and I won't end up hurt?"

"What happens tonight between you and the others will most likely be the jumping off point for whatever relationship you are meant to have with each of them. I cannot promise that it won't hurt. On the other hand I can promise that nothing bad will physically happen to you and that I will be there for you if you need me." _Wow I can't believe how much he cares. I'll simply have to suck it up and put on my big girl pants. For Sesshoumaru, _Kagome thought as she nodded and offered him her best smile.

"Well I guess if you're there it will be ok." Sesshoumaru immediately gave her the most award winning smile she'd seen on his face so far and her heart melted.

"That's the Miko I know. Now get to work so we can get out of here on time to go change before the celebration."

The rest of the day went uneventful for the two as they worked through the office paperwork. The later it got the more dread Kagome felt about going out. Around five she was still pretending to type almost thirty minutes after Sesshoumaru had stopped working. She pretended not to notice as he slowly made his way over. He glanced at her screen and it didn't take him long to realize she wasn't working anymore. Sesshoumaru used a single finger to slowly close the computer and Kagome folded her hands in her lap nervously. When she looked up he simply shrugged and made his way toward the elevator.

"We could always not go, if you're scared that is." Something about his tone fired her up instantly. She gathered her things quickly and joined him in the elevator.

"I'm not scared of a damn thing you mutt." She had muttered it under her breath but it was obvious by his smirk that his sensitive ears had heard her. When they reached the apartment Sesshoumaru walked her to her door and then left to go change. As soon as she closed her door all her confidence seemed to have left her and she had a tough time making herself get ready. She eventually chose a form-fitting Chinese style dress with a high neck line and buttons that went down her left side all the way down to the hem line which stopped just above her knee. The material was a shimmery turquoise color. She put her hair up in a simple bun and shoved two decorative blue chopsticks through her hair, they had black tassels attached to the ends. She added some black platform heals that had tiny leather straps crisscrossing from her toes to her ankles. She didn't bother with any make-up because she didn't believe she needed it. After about an hour there was a light knock on the door and she knew Sesshoumaru was ready. When she opened the door Sesshoumaru was leaning against the door frame looking almost like a god. He had his hair up in a high ponytail and appeared fully demon with bright golden eyes, stripes, pointed ears and all. He was wearing a plain black long sleeved button-up shirt with the top two buttons undone. The shirt was tucked into a pair of black dress pants. When Sesshoumaru cleared his throat Kagome jumped and blushed brightly as she realized she had been checking him out.

"You're going in your demon form?" Sesshoumaru chuckled and tucked her hand in the crook of his arm.

"Technically this is my humanoid form, but yes. Fortunately humans dress so oddly in clubs that I don't have to hide who I am. They tend to be a sensory overload but it's nice to get away with not covering up my own face." Kagome nodded understandingly as he explained his reasons. _It must be hard for him to pretend to be something he hated for so long. _Sesshoumaru opened her door for her and then helped her into the car before joining her. "We're meeting them at the club in my car so if you decide your absolutely ready to leave we can." Kagome watched the building pass until they reached the familiar club. As Sesshoumaru pulled into the parking lot she could see her old friends leaning against their cars. They all waved as Sesshoumaru parked the car and before Kagome could think about worrying Inuyasha appeared beside her door to help her out of the car. She hesitantly took his hand and he pulled her into a hug.

"Geez Kagz you have no idea how bad you worried me. I was afraid you'd say no to this outing." He threw an arm around her shoulder and started to lead her to the others. When he noticed the frown on her face he poked her in the side to make her laugh. "There ya go woman. Cheer up, this night will go far better than the last time because it's all about you." At Inuyasha's comforting words she smiled a genuine smile and prepared to have fun. The two girls that had taken her out the last time spent the first several minutes apologizing profusely for letting Kagome get lost until Kagome held up a hand to quiet them.

"Let's just go with the whole forgive and forget thing." The two girls squealed and hooked their arms with Kagome's and started chatting about what had been going on with their lives. Kagome glanced behind her to see Sesshoumaru talking with Inuyasha, Koga, and Shippo. When he noticed her looking he gave her a discrete thumbs up that the other guys didn't seem to notice. Kagome smiled and joined into the conversation with the other girls. Ayame told her about her pups and how all six of them had grown into wonderful adults. While Kikyou told her about how Inuyasha had finally gained his dream of becoming a full-fledged demon. They went inside and the girls starting dancing with each other on the dance floor. Kagome made sure to keep Sesshoumaru within eye sight but the night went much better since she was not drinking. She was actually having a really good time with her friends now that she had loosened up a bit. When she finally got thirsty she leaned over and yelled to the other girls that she was going to get a soda. She made her way through the crowd and ordered a sealed bottle of Mt. Dew which the bartender handed to her shortly.

"Are you the designated driver tonight?" Kagome opened the bottle and drank deeply from it before she sealed it and answered the man's question.

"Nope, just don't like alcohol." The man smiled and nodded and then shook his head when she tried to hand him the money for her soda.

"It's on the house kid, enjoy your night. If you run out just come get another." Kagome smiled brightly and turned to lean her back against the bar so she could see her friends.

"Thanks." After a couple minutes Koga showed up at her side.

"Hey." He said with a small smile. Kagome hesitated to answer for a moment before she settled on just nodding. Koga sighed and threw his arm around her. "You know you're still my woman right?" Kagome couldn't stop herself from bursting into laughter at his comment.

"You and I both know that's not the case." Koga laughed with her before turning serious.

"I'm sorry for making an ass of myself. I guess I was holding a grudge against you for being gone so long even though I knew it wasn't your fault. We still friends?" Koga held out his hand and Kagome slapped it away as if it offended her before she threw her arms around his neck.

"Always." Kagome couldn't believe just how well this night had been going. She really did owe Sesshoumaru a big thank you. With that in mind she decided to go find her demon in shining armor. "I'm going to go find Sesshoumaru I need to tell him something."

"Alright don't be a stranger." Kagome started to make her way through the crowd with her Mt. Dew bottle in tow, searching for Sesshoumaru. After a bit of maneuvering through the crowd she spotted him sitting at the table alone and started to run toward him. He stood as soon as he saw her with a worried look on his face most likely wondering why she was running. When she was close enough she jumped and threw her arms around him laughing as he caught her around the waist and spun her.

"Thank you so much for making me come I haven't had this much fun in ages." Sesshoumaru placed her on the ground carefully and smiled down at her.

"You are very welcome Ms. Higurashi." Kagome grinned up at him and then blushed and stepped away when she realized just how close they were.

"Um… Where are the other guys?" Sesshoumaru nodded his head in the direction of the dance floor and when she followed his line of sight she spotted Inuyasha dancing with Kikyou and Koga dancing with Ayame as a slow song played.

"As for the kit I'm not sure where he's gone." Kagome rose an eyebrow at him and frowned.

"He's not that young anymore you know." Sesshoumaru nodded his head sagely.

"I'm well aware of that, but for his species he's still young." Kagome frowned and watched Kikyou dance with Inuyasha. There had once been a time when she thought she would be the one dancing in his arms. Back when she had been young and hadn't truly understood her feelings for him. Now she knew she felt more of a family bond toward Inuyasha which left her in an odd place in life. Men of her time simply didn't attract her they didn't have the same spirit that the men of the feudal era. She believed that spending her impressionable years in the feudal era had tailored her tastes to a point that she probably wouldn't find a man that she was truly happy with. Sesshoumaru was drop dead sexy but she knew better than to even entertain the idea that he would ever be truly interested in her. The only reason they had even become friends was that he had nobody else. As her thoughts turned to said demon she looked over at him to see he was looking at her. He rose one silver brow at her before a smirk spread over his face. "Can you dance?" Kagome blinked at him in confusion for a moment before answering him.

"Well yes, I actually took lessons when I was younger. Why do you ask?" The music changed over to Alive by Krewella as Sesshoumaru shrugged at her.

"Think you could keep up with me?" Kagome blinked at him in confusion for a moment. _Did he just ask me to dance with him? _Before she could say anything about it he grabbed her hand and quickly led her to the middle of the crowd. He spun her around quickly and she easily fell into step with him to the beat of the music. The volume of the music seemed to increase as the two of them caught the attention of the crowd and DJ. They ended in a low dip with Kagome panting and Sesshoumaru smirking down at her. Her eyes locked with his and the gap between them seemed to be getting smaller until a voice over the intercom caught their attention.

"Let's give it up for the beautiful couple!" Sesshoumaru helped her stand upright as they noticed their audience. Kagome blushed ten shades of red as Sesshoumaru simply put his hands in his pockets and looked uninterested. Kagome found that her friends were at the front of the crowd cheering for them. At least all of them except one. When her eyes landed on Shippo he had his arms crossed and was glaring at Sesshoumaru hatefully. As soon as his eyes met Kagome's he narrowed his eyes and turned his back to shove his way out of the crowd. Kagome had the sudden realization that she had somehow hurt Shippo's feelings by dancing with Sesshoumaru.

"Oh no." Sesshoumaru looked at her when she spoke but before he could say anything to her about it Kagome started running to try to catch up with Shippo. By the time she had made it through the crowd everyone had returned to enjoying the night. She spotted Shippo easily sitting at the bar and sulking. She walked up beside him and took the seat next to him. The bartender offered her a new Mt. Dew and since she had left her other at the table she took it.

"Kagome, how do see me?" Kagome took a drink from her bottle before setting it on the counter and replacing the cap.

"What do you mean how do I see you?" Shippo growled and smacked the table.

"How do you see me as a person? What am I in your eyes?" His anger confused her and caused her to hesitate.

"Shippo I see you as a sweet young man who I thought was a good friend of mine. Right now though, you are scaring me." Shippo seemed to deflate at her words.

"Right, friends. Sorry for scaring you." He muttered before taking a swig from the brown bottle in his hand. It was obvious to Kagome now that he'd wanted to be something far more than that to her. She hated that she had hurt him but part of her really wanted to try to talk it out with him.

"It's alright Shippo. Look I'm going to go to the bathroom. Watch my soda and when I get back we'll talk about what you want me to see that I obviously am not seeing." Shippo smirked at her and lifted his glass as if he was toasting her.

"Hurry back." She rushed off to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror for a few moments as she prepared to have a conversation that she absolutely didn't want to have. Deep down she knew if she didn't at least try to talk to Shippo about it their friendship would never be able to pull through.

"You can do this Kagome. Shippo deserves to be told the truth. I just hope he doesn't hate me forever." She gave herself a pep talk in the mirror and then went to talk to the fox demon that she had practically raised.


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own the anime this Fanfic is associated with. This particular chapter is written in Sesshoumaru's POV. Enjoy!

**Sesshoumaru's POV**

When Sesshoumaru finally located Kagome she was sitting at the bar with Shippo. Sesshoumaru growled under his breath when his eyes landed on the kit. He didn't trust the fox at all. He was too young to handle his emotions well and his kind were not known for their honesty. It was especially obvious after the way he had stormed off earlier from the table.

_The four males sat around the table and watched as the girls danced together. _

"_Those girls have the attention of every male here and they're completely oblivious." They all nodded at Koga's comment and then Inuyasha elbowed Koga in the side. _

"_Two of those belong to us, we must be amazing." _

"_Yeah right, you two don't deserve either of those girls and you know it." Shippo said with a smirk. _

"_Don't we know it, hey speaking of girls. Just how close are you to getting Kagome? I saw that little thumbs up you gave her." Inuyasha poked Sesshoumaru to get his attention._

"_What are you talking about, she's not his." Sesshoumaru turned to the seething kit and smirked. _

"_The kit thinks he's taking her as his mate." Koga explained sarcastically. Sesshoumaru released a laugh that sounded more like a bark and sneered at the fox._

"_I don't know if you've noticed kit, but my scent is all over her, and you aren't even old enough to emit your own scent. She thinks of you as a child and you know it." Shippo turned red and growled softly at Sesshoumaru who simply snorted at him. "Go play fox, we both know you aren't strong enough to challenge me." Shippo slipped off his chair and sulked off into the crowd. Inuyasha burst out laughing and Koga frowned at Sesshoumaru. _

"_I realize that he was challenging you but don't you think that was a bit harsh? What if he tells Kagome?" Sesshoumaru shrugged and placed his attention back on the girl in question. _

"_She is no longer as fond of the kit as she once was. He's been pushing himself on her to the point she's uncomfortable being around him. Although, I am not truly courting her as of yet she still smells of me which should be sufficient to show the kit she's spoken for." Inuyasha's jaw nearly fell to the floor with Sesshoumaru's words._

"_Why the fuck not?" Sesshoumaru frowned at his brother and shrugged in answer. The reason he hadn't tried was that he was quite sure she thought he was a monster deep down. The thought of her removing him from her life was not tolerable after spending so long without her. His own beast had been giving him the silent treatment since she had left for not listening to it in the first place. The first time he had met her and caught her scent on the wind his beast had claimed 'mate' but he had refused to listen because she was human. When he had traveled with her pack he had begun to admit that there was a sort of attraction there. By the time he had realized she was the one for him and that her being a human really meant nothing she had gone back to her time. For several years he had believed her dead and felt miserable. During his darkest hour when he had gone to Inuyasha and discovered that she was indeed alive it had been the only thing that had saved him from himself. His beast had said he would refuse to speak until Sesshoumaru fixed everything. For the five hundred years he had waited for her he had felt like he was desperately chasing a bright light down a very dark tunnel. Now that he had finally reached the light he refused to lose her over something as silly as overstepping his boundaries._

"_What if he tricks her and forces the bond?" Koga's voice said softly. Sesshoumaru shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at Koga with an odd look of confusion._

"_What?" The wolf rolled his eyes a spoke a bit louder._

"_What is Shippo tricks Kagome and forces the bond." Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed red at the thought of the kit doing such a thing to Kagome. _

"_He wouldn't." _

"_He's heard the stories just like the rest of us. Most of those stories pertain to fox demons anyway." Sesshoumaru shifted uncomfortably at the thought and made a mental note to keep a very close eye on the Miko._

He thoroughly wished she hadn't lost him through the crowd. Who knew what had happened while he was fighting his way through the crowd. As he approached the two of them Shippo turned and gave him a grin that sent chills down his spine. He said something to Kagome and she nodded enthusiastically before picking up her bottle and chugging it. As soon as Sesshoumaru was close he knew exactly what the traitorous kit had done and he was furious. He snatched the bottle away from Kagome earning a squeak of protest.

"What are you doing Sesshoumaru, that's my soda!" He ignored her and gave the bottle a sniff, the chemical scent burned his nose and he snarled at the kit.

"He drugged you!" Kagome's eyes widened as she looked at Shippo who simply grinned at her.

"You won't remember it tomorrow." Kagome slapped him across her face with all her might and he dumped his beer on her dress. As Kagome started to cry Sesshoumaru forced himself to ignore the fox for the moment.

"Come here Miko." She stood and ran to Sesshoumaru without a second glance at the fox. He wrapped an arm around her and rushed her away. While he wasn't sure of the drugs effect he had an idea and he didn't want her in a crowd of strangers once it took effect. He led her over to where he'd last seen Inuyasha and quickly realized he was no longer there. Sesshoumaru growled in frustration and finally resorted to yelling as loudly as he could. Inuyasha appeared out of the crowd quickly and ran up to them.

"You look pissed and…" Inuyasha turned to Kagome and his nose wrinkled up immediately when her drugged scent reached him. His expression changed from worried to furious. "Was it Shippo?"

"The kit is mine to punish at a time when we aren't in a public place. At the moment I need to get the Miko out of here before whatever he gave her starts to take effect. I just wanted to inform you what happened so you would not worry." With that Sesshoumaru started to lead her out of the club. When they got outside she suddenly leaned against him heavily.

"It's really hot out here." When he looked down at her he noticed that her face was beet red. _Damn that fox. _Sesshoumaru scooped her up and carried her through the parking lot and placed her in the passenger seat of his car. Once he was in the car as well he pressed the button to make the top fold back so the wind would blow on her as he drove. As he drove them to the apartment building He kept glancing over at Kagome to make sure she was ok. At the moment she was leaning against the car door with her eyes closed. The smell of beer kept hitting his nose mixed with the drugs Shippo had gotten into her system he was starting to feel sick himself. Hopefully he'd be able to convince her to take a cool bath to help with the drug induced hot flash. That would at least remove some of the smell. When they arrived at the apartment complex and he helped her out of the car Kagome latched onto his waist and rubber her face against his arm. "Please don't leave me alone tonight." Sesshoumaru stiffened at her request. Bringing her to his own apartment would require quite a bit of self-control on his part if the drug worked the way he believed it eventually would. Even now as she looked up at him he knew he couldn't refuse her request. _Would I be able to refuse her if she presented herself to me. _"Please Sesshoumaru?" Her begging alone was enough to have his emotions in turmoil. _I can't leave her alone she may leave her own apartment and find someone who does not care enough to try and resist her. I shall simply have to keep the fact that she's not herself at the forefront of my mind._

"Alright, let's just get you up stairs so you can get cleaned up and go to bed. You can stay at my apartment tonight so I can keep an eye on you." Rather than trying to get her to let go of him and walk he simply picked up the petite woman and carried her inside to the elevator. She was extremely warm which caused him to worry a bit more. He couldn't help the smirk that came to his face when she started to play with his hair. When they reached his apartment the first place he took her to was the bathroom connected to his room. He placed her so that she was sitting on the bathroom counter and then started to work on the water for her bath. Once the temperature felt like it would cool her without putting her into hypothermia he set to work helping her out of her shoes.

"Are we taking a bath Sesshoumaru?" The thought of taking a bath with her fulfilled more fantasies than he was willing to say out loud but he knew she would regret it in the morning so he shook his head.

"No my little Miko, you are. You smell like beer. I'm going to go put your shoes by the door." He took her high heels and placed them beside his own shoes which he had slipped off when they came in. He got back to the doorway of his room when he heard a splash. What he saw when he reached the bathroom door had him laughing hysterically. She had turned off the water and was now sitting in his tub soaked from head to toe and fully dressed. She hadn't bothered to take anything off before jumping in. "Why are you in there like that?"

"You said I needed a bath." Sesshoumaru sighed and motioned for her to stand up. When she did as she was told he gentle pulled the two chop sticks out of her hair and released her raven hair from the bun. He then proceeded to undo the buttons on her dress. The more of her skin he revealed the harder it got for him to concentrate. He swallowed hard as her matching bra and underwear were revealed. When his thumb brushed against her soft creamy skin his entire body reacted. Once the buttons were undone he stood quickly and forced his eyes not to look at her body because he knew if he did he'd lose whatever control he had. He motioned for her to turn around and gently removed the dress from her shoulders. Once he had the dress he turned for the door and made himself walk out, stopping at the doorway.

"You should be able to take it from here. I'm going to go put your dress in the laundry hopefully the alcohol and water haven't ruined it. When you're clean you can borrow one of my t-shirts and some sweat pants from the dresser in my room. You can sleep on the bed I'll be out in the living room if you need me." He quickly ducked out of the room and went to put her dress in the laundry. Once he had it going he placed leaned against the machine with both hands on it and took a moment to clear his head and breathe. That one encounter would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. He had never been so aroused in his life. _This is going to be a terribly long night. _He took another deep breath and prepared himself to deal with whatever else happened that night. He made his way back through the dark apartment through his kitchen and out to the living room. He stopped for a moment to listen for sounds that would tell him what Kagome was doing. When the sounds of splashing water reached his ears he was satisfied that she was ok and continued to make his way over to his couch. He pressed the button to uncover the windows and made himself comfortable watching the city and listening to make sure nothing happened to Kagome. After what felt like forever he finally heard the water start to drain and Kagome get out of the bath. She shuffled around for a while and he hoped she would simply get dressed and crawl into his bed. Once the door opened he knew he was not that lucky.

"Oh Sesshoumaru." The way she sang those two words made him loath to turn around. After a moments hesitation he turned his head to look over the couch and couldn't believe the sight before him. His little Miko was standing in the doorway with wet wavy hair, one of his black t-shirts, and wearing a pair of his boxers. Her scent was her regular honeysuckle and rain scent and she just looked like she belonged in his living room. The whole scene had him feeling a bit of heat of his own. _This woman will be the death of me. _"Well what do you think?" _I think you are going to make ignoring you much harder than I hoped it would be._ After a long moment of studying her he sighed and turned his attention back to the window.

"I think you wear my clothes better than I do." She giggled at his comment and then suddenly dived over the couch next to him. He reached for the tv remote and set everything up so that the tv was playing some old scary movie. He locked his eyes upon the screen and tried his hardest to ignore Kagome in hopes that she would go to bed. Out of the corner of his eye he could she her moving closer to him on the couch. When she finally reached him she leaned her head on his shoulder and started running her finger over his chest. When she started to move her hand lower he quickly caught her hand with his own and intertwined their fingers. She then started to rub her leg against his while obviously trying to get a reaction out of him. "Perhaps you should return to your side of the couch." Kagome huffed angrily and moved to the opposite side of the couch. Her fidgeting kept his attention on her throughout the movie. When the movie was over he sighed and turned off the TV. He watched her rub her legs together and wiggle around for a few seconds before he finally spoke. "It's getting really late, I think it's time for you to go to bed." She pouted at him prettily before she shook her head.

"I'm not sleepy." Sesshoumaru sighed deeply and closed his eyes to try to ignore her movements.

"Suit yourself." He felt her shift a bit and then she stayed quiet for a long time. After a long while her soft voice broke through the silence.

"Sesshoumaru?"

"Hmm?" He more hummed than answered her as he kept his eyes closed and tried not to look at her.

"May I cash in my favor now?" He had a feeling he would regret asking what she meant but against his better judgment he asked anyway.

"And what pray tell would you like to cash it on?" She shuffled a bit more before she answered.

"I'd like you to take my virginity." His eyes shot open and his head snapped over in less than a second.

"What?" His voice was several octaves higher than it should have been but he couldn't believe his ears. She imeadiatly looked ashamed and refused to look at him.

"I'm sorry for asking you. I know you only hang out with me because you don't have anyone else and I know you aren't fond of me as a human. But I thought since you probably have experience and I trust you, you would be the best person to ask." Her words cut him to the bone. This girl was willing to give him the most precious thing she had even though she believed he hated her, which was far from the truth.

_**Fix this.**_ Sesshoumaru had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at his beast's terrible timing.

_I rather preferred the silent treatment._

_**Mate thinks we hate her. FIX IT. **_

_She's been drugged. She doesn't know what she's saying and she won't remember any of this in the morning. I will not take advantage of her._

_S__**niveling pup. **_Sesshoumaru took a deep breath a pinched the bridge of his nose. Dealing with his beast after 500 years of silence was quickly giving him a headache and he still had Kagome to deal with.

"Kagome you have no idea how highly I think of you. In fact I would happily court you and have you as my mate. But seeing as how you won't remember any of this in the morning now is not the time. Besides I'm not entirely sure you would actually want to give such a precious gift to a demon like myself." She nodded slowly and said nothing. He sighed when he was sure that she wouldn't reply and closed his eyes. The next thing he knew she was straddling him and pressing her lips against his. Shock ran through his body and then was quickly replaced by pure electricity and he was kissing her back with all the want he had felt for the last several hundred years. He tangled one hand in her dark hair and placed the other on her hip. She was pressing her body as close to his as she could and it was extremely arousing. The taste of her on his lips combined with her scent surrounding him had his mind feeling drunken and hazy.

_**Mate her! **_Hearing his beast quickly snapped him out of his haze. He quickly broke the kiss and held her shoulders out at arm's length.

"Kagome I love you more than life itself. So please do not think that I am not attracted to you because that couldn't be farther from the truth. If you do this now you will not remember it in the morning and you will be furious with me." She pouted and seemed to think about his words.

"What If I promised not to be furious with you?" In the wake of her desperation he nearly gave in. He shook his head softly and then kissed her on the forehead.

"You would break that promise and I cannot live one day without you. So now I am going to carry you to bed and you are going to sleep." She was frowning but she nodded in acceptance. He gently scooped her up into his arms and took her to his bedroom where he laid her down. He made it to the door before she spoke again.

"You won't stay with me will you?"

"No, my little Miko, I will not. If you need something I will be in the living room. I will see you in the morning. Goodnight Kagome." She covered up with his blanket and snuggled into his pillow before she answered with a soft 'goodnight' of her own. Sesshoumaru watched her for a moment committing the sight of her in his bed to memory before he went and laid down on the couch. _I will never forget this night for as long as I end up living. _


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own the anime associated with this fanfic. I hope you are all happy with the fact that I'm back to updating regularly. Enjoy the chapter!

Kagome woke up the next morning feeling extremely confused. _Where am I and how did I get here? The last thing I remember was talking to myself in the mirror and then everything goes blank. _She had a terrible headache and her mouth felt dry. When she looked down at her clothes she went completely white. Someone had changed her and by the looks of it she was wearing some man's clothes.

"Oh god I'm part of some terrible romantic comedy situation where the girl wakes up in some random guy's apartment after a night of drinking then finds out she's pregnant a month later." Suddenly a booming laugh scared her to the point that she fell off the bed. When she popped her head over the side of the bed to see who was laughing at her she was filled with relief. Sesshoumaru was laughing so hard that he was buckled over and it was starting to hurt her head.

"Are you sure it's mine Miko? We only slept together once and I used a condom!" He joked through his laughter causing Kagome to launch a pillow at him.

"Shut up, I don't remember a damn thing from last night and I have a splitting headache." That made him stop laughing but he was still grinning at her.

"Sorry, breakfast is done and I have some meds for your headache. Once that's out of the way you'll feel better and I'll explain what happened last night." Kagome pushed herself off the floor and made her way past him as he held the door for her. She was glad to see that he had blocked the light from outside and left the lights off for her. She was sure they would have made her headache much worse. Once she was in the kitchen the first thing she grabbed for was the glass of water and two pills he had set out for her. Sesshoumaru had followed her into the kitchen and sat down at his place watching her down the water. Once it was gone she looked at the food thoughtfully and found that she really didn't want to eat. It wasn't that she didn't like bacon, eggs, and toast it was that her stomach was turning. "At least eat the toast it will help absorb some of the chemicals in your stomach." She cringed at his words and sat down to nibble through a piece and a half before she couldn't make herself eat anymore.

"I'm sorry Sesshoumaru but I feel like if I keep eating I'm going to lose what I have."

"It's alright I didn't expect you to eat much. After all you were drugged." Kagome imeadiatly began tu stutter out questions.

"W-who drugged me? If I was drugged why am I here? Why did you change me into your clothes? I didn't do anything stupid did I?" Sesshoumaru waited until he had chewed through his bite of food before answering her.

"Shippo is the one who drugged you."

"S-shippo? Why would he do that I know he wanted me to see him as more than a friend but why would he go that far." When she looked to Sesshoumaru for an answer he seemed to be deciding exactly how to answer her.

"Well Miko, Shippo is a young demon who wishes you to be his mate. You knew this obviously and were not comfortable with the idea of courting a demon you once raised as a child. You and I spend a lot of time with each other and therefore my scent is on you. While the kit is too young to really understand them, his instincts told him that another demon's scent was on the female he wanted and that if he didn't mark you quickly he would lose his chance. As a Fox demon trickery and dishonesty are an unfortunate birth trait." Kagome sighed and laid her head in her hands.

"I was afraid the answer would be something like that. I take it you somehow caught onto what he did?" Sesshoumaru nodded his head slowly.

"The scent was unmistakable and when I accused him he did not bother to deny it. The only reason he didn't challenge me when I removed you from him was because A: He knew he stood no chance. And B: We were in a public location. I must warn you though Miko I have every intention of punishing the kit when I catch him where human eyes won't see. As your friend I feel that he did you wrong. It was for your protection that I removed you from the club since I had no way of knowing how the drug would affect you. I brought you here because I was afraid if I left you alone in your own apartment you might leave and find someone who didn't care enough to resist your behavior." Kagome was fiddling with the hem of the t-shirt she was wearing while listening to him.

"Do the others know what he did?"

"I informed Inuyasha before we left and I imagine he told the others. What they did about it I have no idea."

"I can't believe the night was going so well and then was ruined by one person. Can I ask how and why I'm wearing your clothes?" Sesshoumaru laughed at the bright blush that spread across her face.

"You slapped Shippo and then he poured his beer on you. Therefore when we got here I made you take a bath because the alcohol made you smell awful. While I was bringing your shoes back to the front door you decided it would be a good idea to jump into the tub with your clothes on. Don't worry I saw nothing that a bathing suit wouldn't cover." Kagome blushed an even darker shade of red and hid her face in her folded arms. _Oh. My. God. That means he totally saw my bra and underwear. I must have made a total fool of myself. Oh lord I was drugged I probably threw myself at him like some pathetic fan girl. _

"I made a total fool of myself didn't I?"

"Well that depends on one's definition of fool." Kagome's head shot up with a horrified look on her face.

"What did I do?" Sesshoumaru swirled his coffee thoughtfully for a moment before he turned his eyes on her seriously.

"You and I both know I won't lie to you so do you truly want to know or would you prefer blissful ignorance?"

"Just tell me Sesshoumaru. I was drugged so I would prefer to know what I actually did rather than imagining the worse-case scenario."

"Well you tried to convince me into certain physical activities. Then you tried to force yourself upon me by pressing your lips onto mine, which I rebutted by sending you to bed. That is the general gist of what happened if you would like I can go into more detail but I imagine you don't want to know the full details." Kagome shook her head softly and slipped off the chair.

"No I imagine I don't want to know." Kagome sighed and found herself feeling deeply uncomfortable. She had made herself look like a fool in front of a demon that already thought lowly of her kind.

"Hey don't worry about it," Sesshoumaru said as he suddenly threw an arm over her shoulder, "after all who can blame you? I am the sexiest man you've ever met." Her face turned bright red and she looked up at him in horror.

"I said that?!" He managed to keep his face straight for about two seconds before he began laughing.

"No I surmised that for myself, but I'm glad to know you agree." Kagome's eye narrowed and she slapped him on the chest.

"You jerk! You totally made me walk into that." He grinned widely and walked away from her out the kitchen door.

"Don't sweat it. I may have only seen what a bathing suit doesn't cover but that doesn't mean I didn't appreciate what I could see. Are you going to go down stairs and get ready for work or are you taking a sick day due to emotional stress." Kagome glanced at the clock and rushed out the door. She would be lucky if she didn't make Sesshoumaru late. _Did he just find an odd way to tell me he thought I was good looking? _Kagome didn't have time to think about it at that moment.

The day went uneventfully once they got to work. As soon as they were off work Sesshoumaru's cell started ringing once they were in the car.

"Hello Inuyasha." He was quiet for a few moments and glanced at Kagome. "I don't think she has suffered any ill effects but I'm not sure if she feels up to a visit." When he rose his eyebrow at her she mouthed 'is Shippo there?' When Sesshoumaru shook his head she nodded eagerly. _I need to talk to Ayame and Kikyou about my feelings so I can sort them out. _"Yeah she says we'll come." Once that was out of the way Sesshoumaru closed his phone and turned the car in the direction of her friends. When they finally got there Kagome jumped out of the car before Sesshoumaru could open her door for her. As she ran up the stairs a blur passed her and when she got to the top of the stairs Sesshoumaru was already leaning against the front door acting bored. "What took you so long Miko?" Kagome rolled her eyes as she walked up to the door he was now holding open.

"Show off." As soon as they entered the house her friends were surrounding her asking questions. "Yes, yes, I'm fine I promise. I'm just a little hurt that my good friend would do such a thing to me."

"He didn't bother to come back last night. I imagine he knows if he shows up here he's likely to have problems." Kagome nodded to Ayame as she and Kikyou led Kagome into the library away from the guys. They had Kagome sit on a loveseat in the sitting area with Ayame sitting beside her and Kikyou sitting in a wingback chair across from her.

"I'm sorry that you feel so betrayed by him. I know you once considered him your child."

"Honestly Kikyou the part that hurts the worst is that he broke my trust." Kikyou and Ayame nodded their head softly in understanding. Kikyou gently took Kagome's hands in hers.

"You know the men here will feel the need to punish his discretions. He will not be excepted back here after what he did."

"He overstepped a boundary that no pack demon should ever cross." Kagome nodded at the two girls words. She had had a feeling that Shippo would not be allowed near her again.

"I thought as much. I'm just glad Sesshoumaru was there to protect me." The two girls smiled brightly at her words.

"That demon wishes to court you, you know that right?" Kagome shook her head quickly. Her mind completely rejected the idea that he would ever want a human.

"No I very much doubt it. He makes off handed comments and teases me quite a bit but I'm human. Sessoumaru puts up with me but that doesn't change the fact that he dislikes humans."

"Kagome Sesshoumaru is nothing like he used to be. Loosing Rin made him realize just how little race matters. Just let me ask you this. Does he provide for you?" Kagome screwed her face up at Ayame's words.

"Well he helped me get my apartment but…"

"Does he cook for you?"

"Well yeah but…"

"Does he protect you?"

"Hold on you two!" Both girls fell silent at Kagome's outburst and waited for Kagome to calm down. "It's true that he does those things for me. But those are also things that a friend does. Unless you have heard the words 'Sesshoumaru likes Kagome' and you have proof I really don't think that he actually does. Besides after all the grief he gave Inuyasha for being a half-breed why would he want a woman that could only give him half-breed children."

"Kagome, Sesshoumaru cares for you whether you think so or not. Just do yourself a favor and keep an open mind, because eventually he will approach you whether you think so or not." Kagome was skeptic at Ayame's words but she nodded anyway. "I'm serious Kagome even now his scent is all over you which as a demon tells me that you are a person he cares deeply about. But anyway, it's time for dinner so let's go join the boys before they eat it all."

This time dinner was going much more smoothly everyone was talking except Kagome. Everyone was willing to fill the silence and let her listen which she was thankful for. Her mind was occupied with other thoughts anyway. _Could Sesshoumaru really like me in that way? I know he does all these things for me but that doesn't necessarily mean that he wants anything more than friendship. _When she glanced at said demon she realized he was looking at her and quickly looked away. _God I'm acting like some silly schoolgirl with a crush. This is ridiculous. Sesshoumaru is not interested in you no matter what those girls say. Stop behaving so childishly. _As she stared off into space she realized that she was looking at Shippo's empty chair and found herself feeling sad that she would never have the same relationship with the boy. She was surprised when her phone started to vibrate in her pocket. _Who would be texting me now?_

**Sesshoumaru**

What's wrong?

Kagome looked over at the demon in question. He rose his eyebrow at her in concern without missing a beat in the conversation he was having with Inuyasha. Kagome quickly texted him back.

**Kagome**

Nothing.

**Sesshoumaru**

You are the first person I've ever met who can't lie even through texting. Tell me.

**Kagome**

I just have a lot on my mind. I feel like I should have done something different to keep last night from ending so badly.

**Sesshoumaru**

What happened last night was in no way, shape, or form your fault. You did nothing wrong.

**Kagome**

Then why do I feel so guilty?

**Sesshoumaru**

Because it is a normal reaction when things like this happen, today's media teaches that it is the victims fault. Trust me it is not your fault and if anybody tells you otherwise you just tell them to come to me.

After that text Sesshoumaru gently reached under the table and took Kagome's hand to intertwine their fingers together. Kagome looked up at him curiously but all he offered her was a smile. They sat through the rest of dinner that way, holding hands with none the wiser. Once dinner was over everyone said their goodbyes.

"Remember what I told you Kagome!" Kagome blushed a bright red as Ayame winked at her and yelled out the front door. Immediately, Sesshoumaru turned a smirk in her direction.

"What pray tell, was that about?"

"Oh nothing, nothing at all!"

"I repeat, you are a terrible liar. So tell me what dear Ayame told you. You know I'll get it out of you eventually."

"Oh really Mr. Taisho? You think so? Well you are about to be greatly disappointed because I refuse to tell you anything of the sort." He quickly grabbed her around the waist and tossed her so that he was carrying her over his shoulder. She started pounding on his back with her fist.

"Let me down you awful dog!" So her surprise, Sesshoumaru smacked her butt and made her go silent as she blushed tomato red.

"Silence Miko, I will only put you down when you give me the information I request."

"Sesshoumaru it was a private female conversation which you have no right to know about." He set her into the passenger seat of his car.

"You could always try to outrun me when we return to the apartments and if you make it to the elevator I won't press the issue any farther, but otherwise if you don't tell me you'll spend the evening hanging over my shoulder." Kagome waited silently as she prepared to run for her life as soon as they reached the parking lot. Once they pulled into the parking garage and Sesshoumaru started to slow down Kagome bailed out of the car. She hit the ground running and refused to look back as she went for the elevator as fast as her human legs would carry her. The likelihood that she would reach them without being caught was not high but she had to at least try since she knew she couldn't lie to Sesshoumaru. She nearly made it and was a few feet away when Sesshoumaru's hand circled her wrist. The next thing she knew she was pinned against the wall with both her wrists above her head locked under the golden predatory stare of Sesshoumaru. She found that she had a difficult time thinking with him that close to her. "Got you." He whispered as he slowly leaned his face closer to hers. When the elevator dinged Sesshoumaru jumped back, releasing her from whatever trance he had had her under. A young couple exited laughing as they ran to their car. They watched the two lovebirds get into their car and leave and while this was going on Kagome finally got a plan to make Sesshoumaru drop it.

"Hey Sesshoumaru," She called sweetly to get his attention.

"Hmm?" Once she had his full attention she stomped her right foot and pointed at his face dramatically.

"I officially use my favor to make you stop asking what Ayame told me." He stood there giving her an annoyed look for a few seconds before he rolled his eyes and walked into the elevator. The last thing she heard before the doors closed was him mumbling.

"I should have let you use it last night. At I would have enjoyed that favor." _Oh god what the heck did I ask for that he wouldn't let me have? Never mind I don't actually want to know. _With that issue resolved in her head Kagome waited quietly for the elevator to return. And when she finally made it up to her apartment she went to bed.


	12. Chapter 12

Once again I do not own the anime associated with this fanfic. Thank you all for the reviews! Here's another chapter for you to enjoy!

By the time the weekend rolled around everything seemed to have gone back to normal. As Kagome finished her work Sesshoumaru was sitting on his desk waiting for her to finish up.

"I was thinking that if you wanted too we go out to our place and spend some time ignoring the world. I imagine after the week you've had you could use some relaxation and there's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight." Kagome smiled over at the dog demon fondly.

"Sure Sesshoumaru. That actually sounds quite nice. I just have to put away this last file and I'll be ready to go." Kagome put away the file in question and followed Sesshoumaru out of the building.

"Here since I was pretty positive you'd say yes I got you something." Sesshoumaru tossed her a plastic bag and she couldn't help the girlish squeal that escaped her. He had gotten everything she would need to make s'mores. As soon as they reached their safe haven they both changed into their more comfortable Feudal Era clothes. Sesshoumaru started a fire as Kagome gathered a couple of good sticks to roast marshmallows with.

"Hey Sesshoumaru, do you have a knife?" He looked at her blankly for a moment.

"Miko, why would I carry a knife when I have claws that will carry out the same purpose?" He took the sticks from her and Kagome watched in fascination as he sharpened them with his claws. When he was satisfied with his work he handed the first stick to her so that she could begin to roast her marshmallow. She stuck the marsh mellow onto the stick and then started to gently poke tiny pieces of broken chocolate into the middle of the marshmallow. She didn't realize Sesshoumaru was watching her until his deep chuckles reached her ears. "You certainly are an odd one, you know that?"

"I am not! I just like for my chocolate to melt with my marshmallows."

"To each their own," he said with a shrug as he returned to sharpening his stick. Once they had finished the foodstuffs Kagome started laughing as Sesshoumaru started licking his hand to remove the sticky substance.

"And you called me odd?" Once his hands were clean he fixed her with a half-assed annoyed stare.

"It's called instinct, my dear, not something I can control. Despite my appearance my baser instincts are mostly that of a canine. Licking is there for something I do to get clean." He watched as she dabbed at her face with a napkin for a moment and when she tossed it away he smirked. "Speaking of clean," he suddenly appear in front of her and licked her cheek, "you missed a spot." Just like that he was gone and Kagome had no idea where he had gone.

"Sesshoumaru where are you?"

"Come find me." His voice echoed all around her along with a predatory laugh that sent chills down her spine. She knew she had no chance of finding him unless he was willing to be found. Rather than wandering off into the woods and playing his silly game she walked over to her bow and arrows and picked them up. She hesitated a moment when she reached the cliff remembering what had happened the last time she had stood there. The place where the earth had crumbled beneath her was obvious. After a moment of being lost in thought she remembered she was supposed to be flushing out Sesshoumaru and let an arrow fly. To her annoyance the arrow appeared at her feet again as a blur passed her laughing. "You'll have to try harder little Miko." This time his voice seemed to come from a definite direction. Realizing that he had no intention of letting her get out of playing his little game she began walking in the direction of his voice. Eventually she followed him to a grove of cherry trees that were all in blossom.

"Wow." She slowed her pace as she walked through the falling blossoms, her quest to find Sesshoumaru completely forgotten. "This place is so beautiful."

"So are you." Kagome jumped and her eyes snapped up to Sessoumaru who stood at the top of a hill next to the remains of a cherry tree stump. He turned his head to look at her and smiled. "Come look." Once she joined him she realized that he had brought her to the perfect place to watch the night sky. They were at a different edge of the cliff that rose above the trees, giving them a clear view of everything around them. She looked to her right expecting to see Sesshoumaru but he had disappeared again. When she turned further she spotted him sitting with his back against the stump. His legs were spread apart with his knees bent and he patted the grass in front of him silently ordering her to sit. She hesitantly took her place between his legs but made sure there was a bit of space between them. She fixed her gaze on the sky waiting for it to start. Now that she wasn't moving she realized that it had gotten quite a bit colder and she shivered lightly. She yelped softly as arms circled her waist and Sesshoumaru pulled her back against his chest. He leaned his head back against the stump and held her without saying anything.

"S-s-seshoumaru?"

"Shh, watch the sky." Kagome quieted down and looked up curiously. When a light streaked across the sky she squealed in delight causing Sessoumaru to chuckle in her ear. Kagome felt like a child seeing fireworks for the first time. After a couple hours clouds started to roll in andblock their view of the sky. When she was sure sh wouldn't be seeing anymore lights Kagome quickly stood up and blushed at Sesshoumaru's raised eyebrow. She thought quickly about a way to distract him and then smiled to herself as she slowly walked up to him. She stopped long enough to poke him in the shoulder and then continued walking past him. Once she was down the hill and at the opposite edge of the cherry tree grove she turned around to see him looking at her curiously from behind the stump. She was glad to see he hadn't moved from the ground as she suddenly took off screaming.

"Tag, you're it Sesshoumaru!" She kept glancing behind her and she ran watching Sesshoumaru flash back and forth between the trees. It was obvious that he was playing with her and Kagome burst into giggles as she continued to dart through the trees. When he appeared in front of her she squealed and shot off to the left.

"You cannot outrun the monster little Miko." Kagome shivered feeling his breath tickle her ear with his soft whisper. She reached the top of a hill that led to the clearing when he suddenly tackled her. They rolled down the hill until they reached the bottom and she was pinned by a smirking Sesshoumaru. "Tag," he whispered softly as he dipped his face towards hers. Just when Kagome thought he would finally kiss her she found that she had lost all gravity. She wasn't sure what had happened as an angry roar ripped from Sesshoumaru's mouth. Her ears were ringing and she was dizzy and when she finally got her bearings she was shocked at the sight before her. Where they had been laying a moment before was a large crater where Shippo now stood with red eyes looking less human than she had ever seen him. In front of her Sesshoumaru was in a protective stance snarling and she imagined he looked half changed himself.

"Aw I'm only here to claim what is mine." At his words Sesshoumaru was roaring in anger.

"You dare to challenge me whelp!" While part of her wanted to remind them she belonged to no one at the moment Kagome was damn near terrified. It had been so long since she had seen two demons facing each other that she had forgotten just how scary they could be. She took a step away from Sesshoumaru and attracted the attention of Shippo. Shippo tried to shoot toward her and the fighting began. Kagome scrambled away and hid behind a tree where she watched them battle. Sesshoumaru was obviously far superior to Shippo and repetitively put him down on the ground. But Shippo seemed to refuse to stay down and kept trying to land blows on Sesshoumaru. Damage wise Kagome was sure if Shippo didn't give up soon he'd be killed. Sesshoumaru didn't seem to have a scratch on him as of yet. They were on the opposite side of the field when Shippo suddenly broke off and shot toward Kagome. Kagome screamed as he slammed her into a nearby tree and slammed his lips against hers.

"I'll come back for you." With those words he was gone and Kagome crumpled to the ground shaking. Sesshoumaru pulled her into his arms and held her against him.

"You aren't going after him?" Sesshoumaru laid his chin on her head and breathed in for a few minutes before answering her.

"No. He would want me to leave you unprotected and I won't do that. If you wouldn't mind I would prefer you stay at my apartment tonight." Kagome nodded her head against his chest and the next thing Kagome knew they were at the car.

"What about our clothes?"

"Well unless you're just jumping at the chance to change in front of me we're just going back in these clothes. Separating to change out here is not a good idea."

"Oh." Kagome watched quietly as Sesshoumaru got into the car and started to drive them back. Once they got into the highway Kagome leaned her head against the doorframe and allowed the rumbling engine of the car to lull her to sleep.

Kagome woke up suddenly as Sesshoumaru laid her down on the bed. When he moved to leave Kagome quickly grabbed the sleeve of his kimono.

"Don't leave me." She muttered as she was half-asleep. Sesshoumaru sighed softly and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I'll be in the living room. No one can get to you without coming through me first. Go back to sleep." Kagome closed her eyes and let his deep voice put her back to sleep. Something soft brushed against her forehead and then she was out again.

BOOM!

Kagome fell off the side of the bed as thunder ripped her out of her sleep. She ducked under the bed as another boom sounded. She whimpered lightly and looked out the window to see rain pounding against the glass. As another boom sounded Kagome scrambled out from under the bed and ran for the living room. As she slid up beside the couch she was surprised to see that Sesshoumaru was sleeping through it. He was sleeping in a pair of pajama pants with no shirt on and Kagome momentarily forgot what she had come out to do. As the thunder rattled the windows again Kagome screamed and dived over the side of the couch on top of Sesshoumaru. Kagome was laying on top of Sesshoumaru with her bottom half laying between his legs and her top half laying on his chest. Sesshoumaru's eye shot opened bright red and half asleep. Kagome was inches away from his face with wide eyes terrified that Sesshoumaru was pissed over being woken up. He blinked at her for a few seconds before Kagome felt his arm snake around her waist. Suddenly Kagome found that their position had been switched. She didn't have long to wonder how Sesshoumaru had managed to flip her however as she suddenly found his lips pressing against hers. Kagome found herself helpless to fight the passion he was infusing into his kiss. Sesshoumaru gently licked her lower lip coaxing her to let him in which she did with little argument. He quickly proved his dominance and then began kissing down her neck. When he nipped the crook of her neck Kagome released a quiet moan.

"S-sesshoumaru…" Suddenly the demon above her went stiff and pulled away from her.

"This is no dream…" He muttered quietly and the next thing she knew he was gone. Kagome laid there for a moment as she tried to sort out exactly what had just happened. The storm was completely forgotten as Kagome sat up and looked down the hallway. The bedroom door was now closed and Kagome knew if she wanted to go to him Sesshoumaru was in there. _If he thought he was dreaming would he really want me to come in there? Is he disgusted by the fact that he was making out with me?_ Kagome sat there staring at the door as she weighed the options in her mind. _This is ridiculous. We keep flirting with the lines between friendship and a relationship. Maybe I should just go in there and ask him what he wants up to be? Would he tell me if I asked? Only one way to find out I suppose. _With that in mind Kagome pushed herself off the couch and quietly crept over to the door.

"Sesshoumaru?" She gently knocked on the door waiting to hear his voice. She almost gave up when he finally answered her. She opened the door slowly and found him leaning against the window frame with his back to her and his arms crossed. Now that she was looking at the demon that she had come to befriend she found that she couldn't think of anything to say. She finally settled on creeping up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist and pressed the side of her face against his back. "Are you mad?" At her words Sesshoumaru blew out a long breath and seemed to lose all the stiffness in his body.

"No Miko I am not mad. I am… embarrassed by my lack of control." Kagome thought about that for a few minutes before she spoke up.

"You mean embarrassed that you made-out with a human." At the low growl that came from Sesshoumaru, Kagome immediately released him and took a step back. When he turned and saw the fear in her eyes his entire body softened. He slowly made his way closer to her and placed a hand on either side of her face and looked her in the eye.

"Kagome I wouldn't give a flying fuck if you were an alien. I am far more concerned that you won't feel safe knowing that I couldn't control myself." Kagome stood there totally confused. Her brain couldn't seem to function.

"You said my name…" She felt stupid as the words left her mouth and a smirk spread across his face.

"So I did. Ka-go-me." He inched closer with each syllable of her name and gave her a chaste kiss. When Sesshoumaru pulled back he was looking into her eyes softly. "You appear confused." _Appear confused? I am confused! I can't believe that this man, no, this demon could possibly want to be this close to me. What do I say? What does this mean? And how do I find out how he feels about me? _Kagome stood there looking up at Sesshoumaru for a while longer before she finally decided what to say.

"Do you remember the other day when you wanted to know what Ayame told me?" Now Sesshoumaru was blinking at her in confusion.

"Yes."

"She told me that she believed that you wanted to court me." Sesshoumaru hesitated to answer as he seemed to decide what he wanted to say until he eventually blew out a long breath.

"Would you be against the idea if I did?" Kagome felt like her heart was beating a hundred miles per hour.

"I wouldn't be against it I just find it hard to believe you would actually want me." Sesshoumaru chuckled lightly and pressed another gentle kiss to her lips. When he pulled back he had a wide smile on his face.

"Why don't you just let me make a believer out of you?"


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own the anime associated with this fanfic. Yay for the reviews! Enjoy the chapter.

Kagome woke up the next morning with the sun shining brightly into her face. When she tried to turn over she found that an arm was forcing her to remain still. She turned her head to find a pair of golden eyes watching her. Sesshoumaru smirked at her and licked her cheek playfully.

"Good morning, little Miko." Kagome snorted and pushed at Sesshoumaru's arm so he would release her. When she looked over his shoulder and noticed what time it was she jumped up and started scrambling for the door.

"Sesshoumaru we're late!" The man in question began laughing at her panicked expression.

"Kagome it's Saturday."

"Yes and we work on Saturdays, don't we?" Sesshoumaru shook his head at her sarcastic tone and buried his head back into the pillow. Kagome found herself extremely jealous of Sesshoumaru as she noticed that even when he first woke up he looked perfect. Not a single hair out of place.

"Not today my dear. Now get back over here and continue being a good pillow." Kagome placed her hand on her hips and huffed in annoyance. Even if they weren't going to work she refused to spend the whole day in bed, it was unproductive. She noticed as her fingers touched the material that she was still wearing her old school uniform from the night before. _I'll have to go change before we do anything. _

"Go get in the shower mister high and mighty we are not hanging around here all day. Besides I want to ask you some questions." Sesshoumaru groaned and rolled off the bed to glare at her.

"What makes you think you have the ability to order this Sesshoumaru around?" Kagome rolled her eyes and turned her back on him.

"Fine you do whatever you want to do, but if you think you're coming near me without a shower you're very wrong." As she walked out of the door she heard a light growl from Sesshoumaru and something about 'stubborn woman'. A short time later she heard the shower start and she took her chance to go down to her own apartment to change her clothes. She had barely changed when she heard someone knocking at her door. "That didn't take him very long." She ran to her door and answered to find a very miffed demon standing at her door.

"Did you completely forget the kits threats or were you trying to get yourself taken?" Kagome blinked at him for a moment before she remembered what he was talking about. Her expression changed to one of sadness.

"I'm sorry, I still can't believe he would turn on me," she muttered softly. Sesshoumaru sighed and pulled her against him for a hug.

"Stop that. I'll have you know I absolutely despise it when your scent is riddled with sadness. Especially over something that is not your fault." Kagome pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can smell emotions?"

"In a way yes, what I technically smell is the difference in hormones and bodily chemicals and only when I know a scent well enough to tell the differences." Kagome nodded and smiled brightly as she went back to preparing for the day. Sesshoumaru followed her into the apartment and slipped off into the kitchen. When Kagome had her hair up and a suitable outfit for what she wanted to do she came out to find Sesshoumaru rummaging in her cupboards. "You know I just realized that you've been spending so much time at my apartment that you have literally no food in this kitchen." Kagome laughed at the frustrated look on his face.

"Well I'm sorry you're such an amazing cook that I don't like to eat my own cooking if I don't have to." Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and shut the cabinet door loudly before he turned to her.

"Come on let's go up to my apartment so I can get my keys. We'll just go out for breakfast this morning." Kagome followed him out into the hallway and into the elevator to go up to his penthouse. Kagome waited by the door until he came back out of his room. When she turned to walk out the door Sesshoumaru quickly placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Wait just a moment. I have something for you." Kagome turned to look at him curiously as he held up an expensive looking ring box.

"W-what is that?" Sesshoumaru laughed at her panicked tone and lifted her hand to place the box squarely on the palm of her hand. He used one claw to flick open the box and Kagome gasped in shock. The ring was silver with an amethyst gem cut into the same crescent moon shape that adorned Sesshoumaru's forehead. "It's beautiful…" Sesshoumaru smiled widely at her and removed the ring from the box to place it on her left ring finger. Kagome held out her hand and looked at the ring for a moment before she turned to blink at Sesshoumaru.

"I assume you would like an explanation?" Kagome nodded quickly as she looked at the obviously expensive ring. "Last night you agreed to allow me to court you. Think of this as a promise ring, if you would, to show that I am working toward mating you. For demons my scent is enough to show that you are taken, but in today's time with so many humans around it became necessary to start using rings to ensure that disputes were avoided." _Wow that's a little backwards. I always thought dating came before a ring. _Kagome glanced at the ring again wondering what she had gotten herself into.

"Well that's definitely different from what I'm used to." Sesshoumaru took the empty ring box from her right hand and placed it on a nearby stand.

"To be totally honest demon courting is nothing like the way humans go about choosing a partner. When a demon chooses a mate it is for one of two reasons; breeding or soul-mating." Kagome narrowed her eyes in confusion as she processed what he was saying.

"What makes it so different?" Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a loud grumble from Kagome's stomach. Sesshoumaru chuckled lightly at the blush that spread across her face before throwing his arm around her shoulder to lead her out the door.

"How about we go get breakfast and when we're done I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"Ok…" Kagome stayed quiet from the time the left the apartment all through breakfast as she silently accumulated questions and worried that she might have gotten herself into something she couldn't handle.

"You're worried." Kagome jumped and looked over at Sesshoumaru to see he was watching her with a measured look. _Well yeah I'm worried. I don't know what I got myself into and I don't know how to tell you that I'm afraid. _Kagome looked down into her lap and refused to look at him as she fidgeted. "Speak." She sighed deeply and quietly mumbled her response.

"Waiting for you to have this talk with me makes me feel anxious and the longer it takes the more worst-case-scenarios pop into my head." A single clawed finger hooked under her chin and forced her to look up at him.

"Kagome, I would never ask you to take part in something that would cause you harm. If you're done eating we can go take a walk in the park and I will give you a detailed explanation of demon mating and what it means for you." Kagome nodded slowly and after Sesshoumaru had paid for their meal allowed him to lead her to the car.

Once they reached the park Sesshoumaru opened her door for her and she picked a trail for them to walk. When Sesshoumaru took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers she blushed brightly and looked up at him in shock.

"You know I don't think I will ever get used to the idea of you being sweet." Sesshoumaru snorted and looked up at the sky contemplatively.

"The only reason I took so long to approach you was that I was reasonably sure that you saw me as a monster without emotions." She giggled lightly causing him to look at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Sesshoumaru you were never a monster to me. Monsters hide under the bed and in closets. You were simply a pompous ass who thought he was above everyone in my eyes." She smiled as he laughed at her blunt words.

"I suppose I was back then. As for now would you like to know the mechanics of demon mating?"

"Yeah that would be nice seeing as how I already agreed to be courted." He chuckled at her sarcasm.

"Well I apologize, I was trying to wait for an opportunity to present itself in daily conversation. I couldn't just bring it up without you wondering why but back to the topic at hand. Demon mating is done for either breeding or soul-mating as I said earlier. For breeding purposes there is nothing more than a bond that allows for the birth of pureblooded pups and this bond can easily be broken if a soul-mating presents itself. Soul-mating on the other hand is quite a bit more complicated and under normal circumstances goes much quicker. Demons have a much stronger sense of smell than a human and can therefore identify individuals by their scent. Demons also have an inner being, a split personality if you will, that is their animal side which is called their beast. Every being that a demon meets is normally labeled by their scent. Every once in a great while two demons will meet and their scents will call to their beasts and label them as mates which violently becomes an immediate pull to bond. With soul-mating life-forces are bonded, emotions are felt clearly across the bond, and the bond is so strong that it cannot be broken. Normally demon mating occurs quickly in general. Now on the other hand demon-human mating is far more complicated and on the demon's part is always a mating of souls." He paused to make sure she took in that information before he continued. "In demon-human mating what tends to happen is that the demon's beast claims the human to be their mate. In younger demons that don't have control over their beast this tends to mean that the human is raped, the bond is forced, and for the human a slow painful death which would in turn torture the demon to the point of insanity. On the other hand in older demons which have the control to hold themselves back it leads to either a very long lonely life if they refuse to accept a human as their bond-mate or an eventual courting. Since humans do not usually have the instinctual knowledge of their soul-mate courting is somewhat like human dating, only with the much more serious promise of an eventual mating rather than a weak possibility of an eventual marriage." Kagome listened intently to Sesshoumaru's explanation and found herself full of questions with no idea where to start.

"Wow, I don't know what to say… I have so many questions and no idea where to start…" He nodded at her honesty and offered her an encouraging smile.

"Start at the beginning, that is where most things should start don't you agree?" Kagome laughed brightly and thought back to what she thought was the beginning.

"So you've felt this…. This pull, for how long?" When she looked up at him tentatively he didn't hesitate to answer.

"The moment I caught your scent from the very first time I met you. I was, as you said, a pompous ass back then and refused to believe that my beast would claim a human. In those days there was a lot more racism between demons and humans and I believed humans to be weak and stupid. I could not make myself believe that my beast would choose a human female as my mate. Not to mention I was sure that I needed no one in my life to distract me from my goals."

"What made you change your mind?" Sesshoumaru shrugged one shoulder and looked at her seriously.

"Many things, really. It started with Rin though the people in her village beat her day after day and yet she refused to give up. She stayed strong and continued to bring me things and smile at me though I offered her nothing but insults in return. I suppose that was my first instance of getting soft. That little girl was capable of getting me to do just about anything. That alone was enough to make me begin to wonder if maybe my beast had chosen correctly and I simply hadn't been near you long enough to be shown your strength. Then when I joined my pack with Inuyasha's I had the chance to really observe you. You proved on multiple occasions that you were capable of taking care of yourself. You were loyal, strong, you treated Rin and the kit as your children which showed you to be a good mother figure. As a Miko you were strong enough to stand by my side as the lady of the western lands and as time passed I came to realize that my beast had in fact chosen wisely. You had become a calming light that chased away the darkness I felt in myself that Rin was not quite capable of removing. At that point I felt like I had to remain cold so that my weaknesses weren't exploited and I had no clue how to make you see my feeling through the mask that I had so carefully placed. Then to my horror, your scent disappeared from the world. I had no idea what had happened and that had been enough to cause me to slip in my control. Many years later I also lost Rin beyond a point that I could save her. Inuyasha was the one that had to force me to regain my control. It was a short time after that, that they explained to me what had happened to you. At that point my beast began to give me the silent treatment refusing to speak to me again until recently. Returning to loneliness after having both you and Rin in my life gave me five hundred years to realize exactly how stupid I had been for refusing to acknowledge the bonds my instincts had told me to protect." Kagome noticed that for the first time since she had met him the demon ice prince actually looked worn out. His eyes got a faraway look in them when he spoke of Rin. Kagome tried hard not to think about her human friends from the feudal era since she knew there was only one eventual outcome that had to come to their lives. She shook her head and tried to redirect to happier topics.

"So… basically you're telling me that you love me?" He glanced at her to gauge her reaction before he spoke.

"In human terms? I'm basically telling you that I've been fighting a deep, border-line desperate need for you since the moment I met you. Love is an understatement." Kagome swallowed and looked away as she felt extremely conflicted. She had always thought he was beautiful and she had started to have feelings for him but he was far more serious than she knew how to feel.

"Sesshoumaru, I…."

"Do not feel as though you have to return my feelings immediately. I knew what I was getting myself into when I asked you to allow me to court you. Humans need proof of a bond before they connect emotionally and I understand that. Just remember that I do care deeply for you and allow me to show you that care." Kagome nodded softly as she began rubbing her thumb over his knuckles absent mindedly. She felt a lot less pressure and fell into an easy silence for a while as they walked.

"So what happens during courting?"

"Well, courting always begins with a ring to show that the human in question is being pursued. After that step it's a lot like dating. Basically courting is done to create a bond on the human side of the mating. Once the true bond is created as long as the human feels an emotional connection for the demon it is the same as a demon soul mating. The human begins aging in the same way that the demon does and once bonded feels the same pull that the demon does." Kagome nodded slowly as she tried to absorb all the knowledge she was receiving.

"Soul-mates in human culture implies that those two people were simply supposed to be together. If that's what it's called in demon culture wouldn't that mean that that bond could only be created between that particular pair?" Sesshoumaru sighed deeply and Kagome could tell he didn't like the turn of subject.

"You're speaking of the kit, correct?" Kagome nodded slowly. "His species ages much slower than most. In all actuality he does not yet have an inner beast. Think of him as a hormonal teenager that doesn't actually know what he wants. He is simply confused, in time his beast will make itself known and he will realize he does not actually feel the way he thinks he does. Unfortunately that may take several hundred more years and until he calms I refuse to let him close enough to cause damage. In fact, instinct demands that I put down the threat and the only reason I have not done so is because you once called him your child." She flinched at his blunt way of telling her he wanted to kill Shippo and quickly asked a different question to get the thought out of her head.

"How does it feel?" Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her and tilted his head.

"How does what feel?"

"This instinctual pull you're talking about." Sesshoumaru smirked at her then as the edges of his eyes bled red.

"Such adult conversations should be saved for the bedroom." Kagome stopped walking then and gaped at him in confusion as he simply continued to smirk at her

"Uh… what?" Sesshoumaru gave her a crooked grin and stepped closer to her as he released her hand. She took a quick step back and suddenly found herself pinned to a tree with both her wrists caught above her head. He pressed his forehead against her and looked her in the eye.

"It feels like an addict trying to fight off a craving. Like my body is on fire and I can see water but I can't get to it. To be quite honest it makes me question my control on a daily basis because all I want is to ravage you and then never let you go." He said all this with his lips barely touching hers causing shivers to run down her spine. When he was done he began kissing her passionately as he pinned her with his body. Kagome felt her body heat up as he brought his hands down to her hips to pull her closer to him. With her arms free she wrapped her arms around his neck and started to return his kiss with just as much passion. Sesshoumaru suddenly broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. They were both panting and when he opened his eyes to look down at her the edges were red. "We… have to… stop… before…" Kagome found herself kissing him before she knew what she was doing. Sesshoumaru groaned in the back of his throat and kissed her back for a moment before he grabbed her shoulders and held her away from him. "Stop." Kagome froze at the desperation is his voice. "Kagome my control only lasts for so long if I don't stop now I may not be able to." When he opened his eyes to look at her they were almost entirely red. Kagome swallowed and quickly thought of another question to get his mind to focus on something.

"Why are your eyes red? I thought that was an anger thing." He smirked at her blatant change of subject and she watched as he released her and backed away. As he calmed down his eye returned to their natural gold color.

"That happens whenever I become one with my beast, usually during moments of either anger or passion." When he offered his hand for her to take Kagome hesitated to take it. "I promise to be good… for now anyway." She smacked him on the shoulder playfully before she took his hand and continued walking with him. After a few moments of silence Kagome started laughing at what appeared to be nothing. "What do you find so amusing?"

"I just realized that the statement 'if you think I'm quiet you just don't know me yet' applies to you! I've never heard you talk so much the entire time I've known you." He started to laugh with her and they were still laughing by the time they reached the car.


	14. Chapter 14

As per usual I do not own the anime associated with this fanfic. I hope you enjoy the chapter. This chapter goes back and forth between points of view.

Kagome was laying on the couch with her head on Sesshoumaru's lap as they watched a romantic comedy called couples retreat but she was busy thinking rather than paying attention to the movie. _I can't believe how well the past several weeks have gone. Sesshoumaru treats me better than I've ever been treated by any other person. _Since he had begun courting her he had treated her like a queen. She had received a few expensive gifts, he did anything she wanted, and she now lived in his apartment with him. Although it was also becoming obvious that he was having a harder time fighting his own instincts since he couldn't seem to keep his hands to himself. She loved every second she spent with him and at this point she was sure she returned his feelings. She just wasn't sure she trusted that he truly felt this way for her. She was constantly waiting for him to get bored with her and leave. One of her friends had fallen in love with the most charming boy they had ever met but then once they were married he beat her to the point that she nearly died. She had a hard time believing in the type of connection that Sesshoumaru talked about since she wasn't a demon. At this point she was in love with a demon and she refused to admit it for fear that it was all a sick joke. She jumped a little when Sesshoumaru started to gently scratch her head.

"If you don't tell me what is worrying you I can't fix it." She closed her eyes and started to relax under the gentle touch of his claws.

"Personal issues."

"Like?" _Should I tell him? _Kagome mentally debated the pros and cons for a moment before she finally decided to speak.

"Like sorting out my feelings about you as a person." She could see he was trying hard not to show emotion but she could also feel his muscles tense.

"And?"

"And, I'm terrified. I'm terrified that you're going to be like every other person I've put my trust in. You'll either get bored, or you'll realize you never actually had feelings for me and you were just confused." He released a sigh and leaned his head back to look up at the ceiling.

"What has that half breed done to you?" Since he didn't actually seem to be asking her, Kagome kept quiet and waited for him to continue talking. "Kagome, I am nothing like Inuyasha. The fact that you are a reincarnation means nothing to me. To allow that fact to lower your self-esteem is ridiculous. I **love** you, more than you'll ever be capable of comprehending as a human."

"How do I know you mean that though?" At her words he took his attention off the ceiling to look down at her with tenderness in his eyes.

"Have you ever known me to be a liar?"

"No." Kagome tried to look away but he grabbed her chin to make her look him in the eye.

"Have you ever heard that saying about old dogs and new tricks? Why would I change my habits at this point?" Kagome smiled brightly as she realized how true his words were. She had never known him to be anything but brutally honest and that wasn't likely to change. "I take it talking helped," he asked as he smiled down at her.

"It did actually, thank you." _The question now is how do I tell him? Maybe I could show him that I'm ready instead, would he get the hint though? _ Kagome studied his face for a moment before she sat up and grabbed the remote. When the TV was off she pressed the button to reveal the windows and then tossed the remote on the coffee table before she turned to Sesshoumaru timidly.

"Kagome…?" She didn't say anything as she nervously moved closer to him and placed a knee on either side of his lap so she was straddling him with a hand on each of his shoulders. He looked shocked as the edges of his eyes turned red. "What are you…" Kagome cut him off as she kissed him softly knowing that if he got the question out she'd loose the small amount of courage that she had mustered. Sesshoumaru quickly took over the kiss placing a hand on either side of her face. Kagome did her best to match his near desperate passion. As the kiss got deeper and more passionate Sesshoumaru's hands began to wander down her body until they were both resting on her sides under her shirt. As Kagome's body started to heat up she ground her hips against his and moaned softly at the delicious friction she found in the motion. But as soon as the sound left her she found herself flopped over on the couch alone and feeling extremely frustrated. She jumped up from the couch and marched over to the bedroom door to see him laying on the bed panting with a pillow covering the top half of his face. "God woman you have no idea what you do to me. Please, please don't push me right now because I'm so close to loosing control that it's not even funny." His voice was husky and sounded strained when he spoke. Kagome stepped into the room and closed the door behind her before she began making her way closer to the bed. When she was standing so that the moonlight from the window was behind her she stopped.

"What if I wanted you to lose control?" The pillow was off his face faster than her eyes could trace and he looked shocked for a moment before it was replaced with a desperately hopeful expression.

"Excuse me," he asked quietly as he studied her face. Rather than answering Kagome got on the bed and straddled him before beginning to slowly unbutton her nightshirt. Sesshoumaru watched greedily as more and more of her milky skin was revealed to him. When the buttons were all undone she smiled and leaned down to kiss him softly. When she pulled back and noticed that his eyes immediately went to the revealed strip of skin between her breasts she giggled.

"If I had known that controlling you was as simple as popping a few buttons I would have done it sooner." Her comment seemed to change the entire atmosphere as he suddenly glared at her with full red eyes. Sesshoumaru flipped her over so that she was on her knees with his body pinning her so that her shoulders and the side of her face were pressed against the bed submissively. The snarl that came from him chased every ounce of heat from her body as she suddenly went cold with fear.

"Now who has control bitch?" His words and change of attitude caused tears to spring to her eyes. He loosened his hold as soon as the smell of salt hit his nose. "Kagome?" She took the opportunity of his lossened grip to scramble out from under him and run for the door redoing her button as she went. She had to get away from him she needed to breath, to get outside. "Kagome what's…" When he grabbed her wrist she spun around and slapped him as hard as she could. She knew it wouldn't hurt him but the shock was enough to make him let her wrist go. When she got into the elevator and the doors closed she sat in the corner and let herself bawl. _I knew it was too good to be true._

Sesshoumaru stood in his hallway shocked out of his mind. Had had been moments away from claiming the woman he had been pining after for years and a simple word choice had ruined the moment and caused her to cry. The smell of salt was burned into his nose as he watched the elevator stop at the parking garage. _It probably would have been smart to explain to her that since a bitch is a female dog in heat male dog demons tended to call their mate their bitch in the heat of the moment. _

_**You think?**_

_Fuck off, I'm going to apologize and explain it to her. She just needs a moment to calm down. _

_**Mate is pissed. Won't listen. **_

_She has to listen so shut up and stop bothering me._

When he was sure his beast would offer no more comments the elevator had arrived and he felt a violent stab to his heart as the strong scent of her tears hit his nose. He was kicking himself for making her cry. He pressed the button for the garage entrance and allowed her scent to surround him in the small space. When the elevator arrived he stepped out, prepared to start groveling at her feet to get her to listen, but she wasn't there. What was there was a scent that had him roaring in fury. The first time she had been alone in weeks and the kit had taken her.

_**Kill him.**_

Red eyed and angry he tried to follow the scent only to lose it as soon as he reached the sidewalk. There were far too many scents covering the one he was looking for, for him to catch enough to tell where they were. The anger lasted for a while until he began to realize that he really could tell where they had gone. Then the anger was replaced with a frustrated sort of heartbreak that he wasn't sure what to do with. Sesshoumaru pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed speed dial and when he heard the person on the other end begin yelling about knowing what time it was he spoke.

"Shut up mutt, Kagome has been taken."

Kagome was quietly watching Shippo as he stalked back and forth in the shack that he had taken her to. She had stopped crying about half-way there and was now quietly awaiting her fate. She knew she had no chance of talking Shippo down and if he chose to he had the ability to make her do anything he wanted her to do. She was likely to die a painful death and at the moment with her heart broken she wasn't all that afraid of dying. Once again she had put her trust in someone only to have them throw it in her face. Shippo kept going to one of the windows a looking out as if her was waiting for Sesshoumaru to show up. After a long time of this Shippo finally started to relax and turned to her with a smirk.

"It appears your dog couldn't follow the scent. Must be getting old." Kagome closed her eyes as tears started to pour again.

"No, he doesn't care. I made him angry and he called me a bitch." Shippo laughed at her for a while before he finally managed to speak.

"You stupid girl, he's a dog, a bitch is a female dog in heat, that wasn't an insult. No matter though soon enough you'll be my mate and he won't be able to do a damn thing about it." _A compliment? Oh great now he tells me. _Kagome thought in exasperation as she realized that she had misunderstood the situation. _Great then that means I probably hurt his feelings. Well no dying for me, now how am I gunna get myself out of this mess? _Kagome looked around and found nothing that would actually help her nearby. She wasn't tied up but she knew she wasn't fast enough to outrun him. While she could use her Miko abilities she didn't want to kill him unless she had no other choice, which left her with the only option of trying to talk her way out of this mess.

"You would force me to mate you? Killing me and in all likelihood torturing yourself." Shippo looked at her and smiled brightly.

"Of course not, I'm going to court you and show you that I am not just some kid you took care of."

"What if you can't convince me?" He shook his head furiously as though she was being ridiculous.

"But I will. I will convince you and we'll be mated and Sesshoumaru won't be around to break your concentration." In Kagome's opinion it felt like she was dealing with a psycho stalker that had taken her hostage. She thought back to all the shows she had seen and they all seemed to have the same advice. Play along until a chance to escape presents itself.

"Ok Shippo." As he ran up to her she quickly slipped Sesshoumaru's ring into her pocket so that he wouldn't take it.

"I knew you'd see it my way, we're meant to be together you know?" He grabbed her left hand and blinked at her empty ring finger. "What happened to the ring?"

"I took it off." She had to make sure she didn't lie so that he wouldn't catch the change of scent. Like Sesshoumaru had told her, when it came to demons you couldn't lie but you could always withhold enough information to get by.

Sesshoumaru was going insane with worry. It had been two days and they were still trying to find either Shippo or Kagome's scent. He had to stay busy, had to keep looking, because every time he stopped thoughts of what that fox was doing to his Kagome flooded his head. He knew Kagome would be able to purify the kit if worse came to worse but he also knew she wouldn't unless she absolutely had to. Inuyasha and Koga had joined him on the hunt since they knew both scents well enough to help him search. In the event that Shippo was found they had been told to get Kagome and go back to the house. He had no intention of giving the kit another chance to hurt his mate and preferred that Kagome was not there to witness the death of the fox.

"I got a scent!" Inuyasha's word had him running. When he was close he could also smell the fox's scent but there was no sign of Kagome. Without a word Sesshoumaru was running in the direction of the scent leaving the other two males to follow him. He skidded to a stop in front of a shack as a snarling fox demon blocked his path to Kagome who was standing in the doorway looking relieved and happy to see him. A quick inventory of her appearance told him that she wasn't badly injured but she had several visible scratched on her arms and was sporting a dark black eye. His eyes turned red as he debated how he would get him away from Kagome so that he wouldn't accidently harm her while attacking the Kit.

"How brave of you to stand where I can't attack you." He decided taunting the kit would simply have to do. He knew the fox was to young and stupid to be any sort of real challenge and he hoped he would be stupid enough to go for the first attack. To his satisfaction the kit did not disappoint him as Shippo lunged toward him. He watched long enough to make sure the others had gotten Kagome away safely before he turned and prepared to put down the fox. Live a beloved family pet that had gone rabid.

Kagome found herself screaming at Inuyasha as he carried her away from the fight. She wanted to be sure that Sesshoumaru would be ok. She had missed him terribly and that short glance had only been enough to get her hopes up. When he finally set her on her feet Kagome began hitting him in the chest with her fists as she cried.

"How dare you! What if he gets hurt! What if Sesshoumaru needs me!" She fell against him and cried into his chest as Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and patted her back comfortingly.

"That asshole can take care of himself, he didn't want you to have to watch what has to be done. He shouldn't be too far behind us he missed you too much to take his time getting here." Kagome remembered the ring in her pocket and quickly stepped away from Inuyasha so she could rip off the one Shippo had forced onto her finger and throw it as hard as she could. Once she had Sesshoumaru's ring back on her finger Koga threw an arm around her shoulders and led her inside. Once she was inside the girls fretted over her black eye ask had her tell them what she had gone through over the last several day. But Sesshoumaru was constantly in her mind as she continuously glanced at the clock in the library.

"Kagome." She jumped at the familiar baritone voice and when she spotted Sesshoumaru standing in the library door she ran to him and threw herself into his arms. She immediately burst into tears as he petted her hair and shushed her gently.

"I missed you so much! I'm so sorry Sesshoumaru I never should have left! If I hadn't misunderstood the meaning of your words none of this would have happened!" He sighed deeply and laid his head on top of her head.

"It's alright. You'll never have to miss me again. I should have explained that custom before it came up in conversation."

"Well this is touching and all but dinner is done if you want it." Kagome suddenly realized exactly how hungry she was as soon and Koga spoke and quickly started pulling Sesshoumaru down the hallway.

"Come on I haven't eaten a real meal in two days." Kagome scarfed down her food quickly and as soon as she was done Sesshoumaru was leading her to the door.

"If you don't mind I'd like to keep you for myself this evening." When they got back to the apartment Kagome thought they were going to watch movies but was shocked when Sesshoumaru led her to the bedroom instead. He had her lay down on her side of the bed before he took up his own place on the bed. They laid there quietly looking at each other for a long time before Sesshoumaru reached out and gently stroked the edge of her black eye. "I'm sorry that I allowed you to come to harm." Kagome laughed through her nose and shook her head.

"It wasn't your fault." Sesshoumaru smiled at her softly for a moment before he leaned forward and kissed her gently.

"I could lay here looking at you for the rest of my life a die a happy man." Kagome smiled at him as she decided to finish what she had started the last time they had been in this bed.

"Mate me Sesshoumaru." He blinked at her in concern for a moment before he spoke.

"Are you sure?"

"Are you?"

"This Sesshoumaru in never unsure."

**THE END**


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